Dotcom's Facebook victory

CHARLES ANDERSON
Last updated 08:45 02/08/2012
IDENTITY CRISIS: Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom says he can't seem to convince social media giants Facebook and Twitter that he is real.
KIM_DOTCOM/Instagram

IDENTITY CRISIS: Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has had trouble convincing social media giants Facebook and Twitter that he is real.

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Kim Dotcom can claim a victory.

The Megaupload founder, who once attracted four per cent of all internet traffic, was struggling to get a Facebook page because the social media giant wouldn't recognise "Dotcom" as a legal name.

But today Dotcom tweeted good news: "Facebook has approved my Kim Dotcom account. Yeah!"

His problems aren't over though. Dotcom, who is on bail fighting extradition to the United States where he is facing charges of copyright breach, money laundering and racketeering, said Twitter could not confirm his identity despite providing it with a copy of his Hong Kong driver licence.

Last month Dotcom joined Twitter in what was initially thought to be a parody account but turned out to be anything but, when three members of the public found themselves living the high life, pool-side, at the internet tycoon's multi-million-dollar mansion.

He now has 114,000 followers and regularly tweets about the nature of freedom in the internet world and the vexatious advances of the United States Department of Justice.

On other occasions he has posted photos of him and his co-accused riding Segways around the mansion's manicured lawns or promoting his burgeoning music career.

However the medium he is using to win over the public refuses to accept such a person exists.

"@Twitter declines to certify me. I faxed an ID. They think it's fake. A search for my name shows imposter as the first result. Might quit!" he wrote in a post of his own to his Twitter stream.

Unfortunately for Dotcom, born in Germany as Kim Schmitz, others have latched on to his persona to create fake accounts including @KimDotcomTruths, @KimDotComFree and @KimDotComPR.

In a final attempt to have his screen name authenticated, he told Twitter in a follow-up Tweet, "Hey ... it's really me. Please certify my account and disable the imposter."

Dotcom offered a plea along with photo of himself next to a homemade sign that reads "Twitter. It's really me."

US authorities say he and his three co-accused - Mathias Ortmann, Fin Batato and Bram van der Kolk - used Megaupload and its affiliated sites to knowingly make money from pirated movies and games.

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- © Fairfax NZ News

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