SPLMToday

The SPLMToday Web site identifies itself as the “official website for the SPLM & SPLA.”

It has characteristics of a phishing site.  Its authoritativeness has not been verified.  The address of the first contact is given as “Khrt Sudan”.

(SPLM and SPLA, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Sudan People’s Liberation Army, are the governing party and armed forces of South Sudan.)

Contents

History

The splmtoday.com domain name was registered by G.L. Loro, Amsterdam, in October 2003;[1] on March 25, 2004, SPLMToday began publishing in its current form, identifying itself as the “official website for the SPLM & SPLA.”  The site it replaced had been “taken down by persons of malicious intent.”[2]

The site’s home page has invited visitors to send donations (2004–2005)[3] or disclose their names and e-mail addresses (2005–2011).[4]

By the time South Sudan became independent, the SPLMToday.com site, representing itself as “Official website of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement,” was receiving nearly half of all web traffic from search queries for “SPLM.”[5]

Editors’ names and credentials

An editor’s name is stated in the first issue: “The new [2004] website … hopefully shall be kept updated regularly by Lt. Col. Tulio Ayaho Odong of the SPLA.”[6]  The current editors aren′t identified.

Editorial policy

SPLMToday’s mission is to publish news related to “SPLM and GOSS” (Government of South Sudan) and to “connect [Sudanese] communities in [the] diaspora and at home.”[7]

Publisher or sponsoring organization

The copyright-management information notice identifies the copyright owner as “Official SPLM Site.”[8]

The original (2004) site was sponsored in part by SPLM Benelux Chapter, Hague, Neth.[9]

Donations and personal information (users’ names and e-mail addresses) have been solicited by the publisher.  See, e.g., SPLMToday Home Page (2005) (“Donations … Help the Cause (business: donations[at]splmtoday.com) (currency code: EUR) (item: SPLMToday Website) {Make a Donation} (alt: Make payments with PayPal)  Donate and help us make a difference!”).

Accuracy and verifiability

The name and address of the first contact on the Contacts page are given as “SPLM General Headquarters, Khrt Sudan”.  The publisher indicates that “SPLM HQ [Headquarters] Southern Sector” can be asked for further information or clarification about material published on the site.  An e-mail address (info [at] splmtoday.com) and a Skype name are given.[10]

Popularity

Of all Web searches for “SPLM” during the month (June 2011) immediately before South Sudan became independent, 48% led the user to SPLMToday.[5]

References

  1. ^ splmtoday.com Whois Domain Name Record (July 10, 2011), [1] (“Created-Date: Oct 24, 2003 …  splmtoday.com is a domain name registered by G.L. Loro.  The site is based in Amsterdam ….”).
  2. ^ SPLMToday Home Page (Mar. 25, 2004), [2] (“Welcome to the New Sudan Official Website!  Hello and welcome to the redesigned official website for the SPLM & SPLA.…  [S]ome … spelling … mistakes did … occur in the rush to get this website online and active to replace the old website that was taken down by persons of malicious intent.”).
  3. ^ SPLMToday Home Page (Apr. 3, 2005), [3] (“Donations: Make a Donation”).
  4. ^ Official SPLM Website Home Page (July 2011), http://www.splmtoday.com/index.php (“For email updates, please subscribe below: Name [user_name_form]; E-mail [user_email_form].”).
  5. ^ a b Alexa Internet: Splm Site Information (July 9, 2011), [4] (“Search Analytics for splm.  Sites Receiving the Most Traffic from This Query:  splmtoday.com 48.0%; wikipedia.org 12.6%; yahoo.com 8.6%; …  Updated Monthly”).
  6. ^ SPLMToday Home Page (Mar. 25, 2004), [5] (“Hello and welcome to the redesigned official website for the SPLM & SPLA.  Although we have experienced numerous problems with our previous website we … have come back with a new and improved website featuring news and information … related to Sudan.  The new website … hopefully shall be kept updated regularly by Lt Col Tulio Ayaho Odong of the SPLA.”).
  7. ^ SPLMToday Launches a Renewed Site, SPLMToday, Sept. 1, 2005, News sec., [6] (“[W]e, members of the SPLMToday web team, are proud to launch the new and improved official New Sudan site, SPLMToday.com ….  SPLMToday hopes to filful some of the objectives it was original[ly] constructed to achieve.  Updating the site with fresh SPLM- and GOSS-related news as well as connecting our communities in diaspora and at home will be our priority.”).
  8. ^ SPLMToday Home Page (July 10, 2011), [7] (“SPLMToday.com …  © 2011 Official SPLM Site”).
  9. ^ Posting of Gore L Loro to http://www.gurtong.net/Forum/tabid/81/forumid/94/threadid/59414/scope/posts/threadpage/2/Default.aspx (Jan. 9, 2004) (“The SPLM Chapter in the Netherlands has helped to pay some of the fees required to get [the SPLM/A site] where it is.”).
  10. ^ SPLMToday Contacts Page (2007– ), [8] (“Contacts … October 2007 … SPLM General Headquarters, Khrt Sudan; SPLM HQ Southern Sector | email: info [at] splmtoday.com | skype: splmhq_juba | HQ: Juba, Sudan”).

External links