American author Nicholas Kaufmann reported being flooded by messages, followers, and commenters from the Philippines after being mistaken as the International Criminal Court (ICC)-accredited lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, the lead counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte at The Hague, Netherlands.
“I am being absolutely flooded today with followers and commenters from the Philippines who I guess don’t believe I’m not Duterte’s lawyer. Our names aren’t even spelled the same (he’s Kaufman with one N). It’s insane!” Kaufmann posted on Tuesday (Manila time).
Asked by a commenter if these social media users were pro or anti-Duterte, the author said they started pro-Duterte but lately, he was “getting some anti-Duterte commenters from the Philippines who are apologizing for the others and calling many of them bots.”
“I’d rather they left me alone,” Kaufmann wrote.
In an earlier post on March 21, the writer said in jest that he would be making a lot more money if he were a criminal defense lawyer.
“PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, I AM NOT THE ICC LAWYER NICHOLAS KAUFMAN WHO IS REPRESENTING PRESIDENT DUTERTE! PLEASE STOP MESSAGING ME!” Kaufmann posted.
According to his website, Kaufmann is the critically acclaimed author of numerous horror and suspense works.
These include the Bram Stoker Award-nominated “General Slocum’s Gold,” the Thriller Award-nominated and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated “Chasing the Dragon,” the Dragon Award-nominated “100 Fathoms Below,” and the bestselling “The Hungry Earth.”