The mayor of Victoria does not like the fake Facebook profile, has he been removed?

The Mayor of Victoria, Lisa Helps, wants to clarify one thing: she is not on Facebook.

So if you saw a Facebook page that was briefly online and seemed to be coming from the mayor of the BC capital, it was a fake. Helps was so worried that she asked city staff to contact the social media giant to shoot her down.

"The fact that they use my photo, that they use the banner that is on my Twitter feed and that they even write like me, with positivity and exclamation points, is very worrying, "Helps told council chambers on Monday.

"It is really disturbing that someone uses this tool, I think, to spread false information.

"It's completely unacceptable."

The page contained several items purportedly from the mayor, suggesting, for example, that the city convert some of its churches into mosques.

Some of the comments on the page indicated that the page was a fake. Others seemed to play with it. The mayor noted that others were racist in nature, including churches and mosques.

"There have been some sharing and comments," said Bill Eisenhauer, city engagement officer. "It seemed that some people believed that it was a mayor's website"

The page was put online sometime during the weekend and was closed Monday afternoon, added Eisenhauer.

"Someone had left [the mayor] know, "he answered the question of how this was discovered." We checked it and immediately informed Facebook. They immediately took action.

Helps said the page went beyond satire.

"It's a deliberate spread of misinformation that speaks to me in the voice – it's very different," she said.

Helps was sorry that the fake page is using his profile picture and Twitter banner. (Bill Eisenhauer)

She deleted her Facebook account in March 2018 as part of the #deletefacebook online campaign that urged people to sign the platform for good.

She had already encountered a problem with her online presence in 2016, whereas she was previously stuck for using her real name. Facebook has finally remedied the situation.

"Facebook is a toxic echo chamber," Helps said Monday. "The fact that, on Facebook, someone can become me, looks like me, looks like me, without repercussion until we say to Facebook … I think that there is a problem with this social platform. "

Helps indicates that anyone wishing to reach her can call her on the phone, send her an email or send her a message on Twitter.