Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, fell for a social media hoax on Monday, posting that a famous Nigerian writer had died that day. But in fact, the author died two years ago.
On Monday morning, Rice tweeted her condolences to the Nigerian people for the death of Chinua Achebe, who authored the famed Nigerian classics “Things Fall Apart” and “Arrow of God.”
“A giant of African lit., he brought the Continent–and Nigeria, in particular–2 the world. His works left lasting impression on me & my gen.,” Rice tweeted.
Obama’s security adviser then added, “Despite the promise of the future, today is a somber day in Nigeria, as Chinua Achebe was laid to rest in his native village.”
The only problem is that Achebe died back in 2013.
Rice made this mistake despite being the top Africa adviser in the State Department from 1997 to 2001. With that background, one might assume Rice would be keeping up on news in Africa, especially since she is now one of Obama’s top advisers.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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