Deleted tweet sends Twitter into a spin over #Snowden

The story of whistleblower Edward Snowden has gained another twist: and this one is all about the social network that was not included among the named tech giants reportedly asked by the NSA to spy on their users.

It all started with a tweet by senior Russian State Duma official Aleksey Pushkov, who said:

Predictably, Snowden has agreed to [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro’s offer of political asylum. Apparently, this option appeared most reliable to Snowden.

Snowden, who has been living in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport since fleeing to Russia from Hong Kong in the wake of the PRISM scandal, was offered asylum from Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua late last week. Pushkov’s tweet seemed to confirm one of the rumours suggesting Venezuela would be the most likely port of call for the former US security contractor.

But the initial reports citing Pushkov’s tweet as fact were soon amended after he deleted the post. He later claimed he had got the information from Russian news channel Vesti 24, but by then a number of news organisations had reported on the unconfirmed information.

#BREAKING: Edward Snowden agrees to asylum in Venezuela: top lawmaker

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) July 9, 2013

Edward #Snowden has accepted a Venezuelan asylum offer, according to a senior Russian politician http://t.co/ZrFOT6YmxT

— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) July 9, 2013

Edward Snowden has accepted Venezuela's offer of asylum, says senior Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov in Twitter post #breaking

— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) July 9, 2013

URGENT UPDATE: Russian MP @Alexey_Pushkov deletes his tweet claiming #Snowden 'accepts' Venezuela asylum offer http://t.co/mhGxwHgmad

— RT (@RT_com) July 9, 2013

UPDATE: Russian official deletes tweet about #Snowden asylum

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 9, 2013

MORE: Screenshot of @Alexey_Pushkov tweet that said #Snowden accepted Maduro's offer of #Venezuela asylum pic.twitter.com/YPIpkSIEd6

— RT (@RT_com) July 9, 2013

The news and its retraction has left Twitter users confused and amused, while others have continued to share the initial news.

That screeching sound you can hear is newsrooms the world over slamming on the Twitter brakes #snowden

— Markham Nolan (@markham) July 9, 2013

Did I really just receive a push notification from CNN informing me that the Russian Foreign Ministry deleted a tweet? #snowden

— Ty (@ImTyUK) July 9, 2013

CNN’s enior International Correspondent Matthew Chance was among the journalists that quickly admitted the mistake to his followers:

Russian lawmaker now tweets that he got information about #snowden from Russian tv news channel. Oops

— Matthew Chance (@mchancecnn) July 9, 2013

If Snowden does accept the offer from Venezuela, it seems the United States’ preemptive request for his arrest was well placed. Authorities filed an extradition request with Venezuelan officials last week, asking them to prevent Snowden from transiting through or traveling to their country and to arrest and keep him in custody. President Maduro told local media that he has rejected the request.