Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has directly engaged with Facebook to “highlight concerns about fake accounts” and filed a legal report after multiple unofficial pages seemingly representing the Council have appeared on the social media platform, a Council spokesperson has confirmed.

The Impartial Reporter was made aware of at least two unofficial Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Facebook pages.

In the subheading of both, it states that it is a ‘public and government service’ and that it is an ‘unofficial page’.

The ‘About’ sections of each page show the Council’s website and email address under the subheading of ‘Additional Contact Info’.

However, neither page shows posts that have been directly posted on the page by an administrator.

Instead, there is an array of check-in posts from different Fermanagh and Omagh District Council councillors.

When asked if the Council was aware of the unofficial pages, a spokesperson responded: “​The Council is aware of the Facebook pages purporting to represent Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.

“Members of the public should ensure that they follow the official Facebook page to avoid misinformation or other online scams.”

The spokesperson went on to explain that in a bid to have these unofficial pages taken down, the Council has engaged directly with Facebook “to highlight concerns about fake accounts”.

“Our solicitor has also filed a legal report,” added the spokesperson.

When asked if the Council knows who has set up the pages, the spokesperson commented: “The Council has been actively investigating possible connections to the page, and is unable to comment in detail at this time.”

This newspaper contacted Facebook regarding the issue of the unofficial pages, but had not received a response by the time of going to print.