There have been allegations leveled on social media that the account is a fraud, nothing more than a made up name and collection of unauthentic photos used to hide someone’s identity so they may attack candidates with impunity.

The story was posted to the Central Western Daily’s Facebook page, where it immediately became the centre of some heated debate, which is the subject of this piece.

Let us start here: no one at the Central Western Daily knows whether the account is fake or not. It’s our sincere hope that it’s not, if only because we want to see more – not fewer – people engaging in discussions about the election.

We have asked this person more than once to make themselves known to us, for no other reason than we would like to verify the authenticity of the account so we can help set the Doubting Thomas’s straight.

Others commenting on our Facebook post believe we erred in publishing the story. Here’s a sample of their comments ...

“You chose to call out a Facebook profile that may or may not be real because of comments on a page that is used specifically to troll.”

Not so. We chose to ask this person to reveal themselves because of fears the discussions on our own Facebook page are being skewed by a fake profile. The responsibility for what this person has written on other Facebook pages is not ours, what appears on the CWD’s is.

Another comment labeled the story “outright defamation of character”.

Untrue. No accusations were leveled in the story. If anything we are trying to help this person clear their name against persistent accusations they are nothing more than a sham with a political axe to grind.

“Must be a really slow news day ...”

This old chestnut. Anyone who produces or digests news knows a simple truth: not all stories are created equal. Some are destined for the front page, others will be tucked away in forgotten corners of the paper. Not all news is earth-shattering … but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be produced.

The genuine owner of the account – if they exist – is under no obligation to come forward, but if you’re reading this, please know that our goal is to help you, not hurt you.