Online impersonators pose as Whatcom County and Bellingham WA elected officials
Two Whatcom County elected officials were targeted by online impersonators who made provocative comments attributed to them on the video-sharing site YouTube.
The two victims of bogus accounts were Michael Lilliquist, a member of the Bellingham City Council, and Liz Darrow, a member of the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission. Lilliquist and Darrow confirmed to The Bellingham Herald that they were impersonated by online trolls.
Lilliqist’s impersonators’ account was disabled after an inquiry by KCPQ-TV of Seattle, whose reporter was tipped to the scam that was detailed in a broadcast on Friday, a YouTube spokesperson told The Herald in an email on Saturday.
“We received a news inquiry about the account impersonating council member Michael Lilliquist earlier this week. We terminated the channel in question for violating our community guidelines. Content intended to impersonate a person or channel is not allowed on YouTube,” YouTube spokesperson Boot Bullwinkle told The Herald.
Darrow told The Herald in a telephone interview that she believed her impersonator’s online account has been removed, but YouTube was unable to verify that Saturday.
The impersonators made “sassy remarks about affordable housing to more sinister slandering of minority groups,” according to the KCPQ-TV report.
Online impersonators could face criminal prosecution under Washington state law, along with a civil lawsuit for defamation or invasion of privacy.
“My concern is the imposter has not been held accountable,” Lilliquist told The Herald in an email.
Darrow said she is concerned that the incident would further erode trust in government and have a chilling effect that would deter people from running for public office.
“I was trolled online when I ran for (Bellingham) City Council (in 2023). I feel that rolls right off my back. But this is different — bullying versus impersonation. This felt kind of personal. But whatever,” Darrow said.
