Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, the so-called South African Blade Runner, is the subject of a social media campaign that promises to reveal “the hard truth” about the events that led to the shooting death of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at their home in Pretoria on Valentines’ Day last year.
A Twitter account called @OscarHardTruth, allegedly set up by Pistorius’ public relations team, is now active claiming it will set the record straight after what his supporters claim is biased reporting of the case.
His PR team’s advance into social media comes after a decision to allow local TV channels to televise the trial and is clearly an attempt to reclaim public opinion in the highly publicised case.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
A post on Sunday said: “as the trial approaches, many untruths, half truths and versions of the truth have and shall be spread across the world” while another read: “We WILL address the truth and expose those ulterior motives. The Truth will prevail.”
However, those posts have since been removed. The only remaining comment has a less confrontational tone, stating: “This feed will provide the hard truth as it unfolds and will provide information that will become clearer during the trial.”
Pistorius, who is charged with Steenkamp’s murder, admits shooting his girlfriend through the door of their bathroom, but claims he mistook her for a burglar. He is due to go to trial in Johannesburg on March 3.
The judge who agreed to alow the trial to be televised ruled yesterday that the trial’s opening arguments, state witnesses, closing arguments and the verdict and sentencing could be broadcast live but not Pistorius’ testimony, defence witnesses or anyone else who objected to appearing on camera.
These latest moves follow recent South African media reports that leaked trial documents have revealed that Pistiorius accessed pornographic websites via his mobile phone on the night of Steeenkamp’s death.
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