Saudi takeover 'in the knows' - The online virus Newcastle United fans must ignore

Newcastle United Twitter has been hijacked by a deceitful plague of “ITKs” claiming to have an omniscient knowledge surrounding the ongoing Saudi takeover takeover saga.

For those of you who are unaware, ITK stands for “in the know” and is a derogatory term within the football community - referring to social media accounts set up to promote fabricated stories regarding potential transfer news, managerial appointments and other classified information.

Often masquerading as somebody who has inside knowledge of a club, ITKs will claim their own 'exclusives' - in the vaguest possible way - so they can remind their followers “you heard it hear first” further down the line.

A vulture-esque trade that preys on the vulnerability of supporter’s dreams, the motive is often to quench a narcissistic thirst for attention or to boost their online following.

Whatever the reasoning behind "ITK" accounts, one thing is now unequivocally clear: the NUFC Twitter world is absolutely rife with them, giving false and unfair hope to fans desperately hoping for good news on the takeover front.

The end of the 2020/21 season has left us all feeling pretty distant when it comes to Newcastle United news - which may be an alien feeling for our supporters, as we are so used to having some sort of turmoil engulfed at the club. However, updates from the club regarding new kits, new contracts and the ongoing takeover battle have been non existent.

Also, Euro 2020 has meant the majority of people’s focus has temporarily shifted to England. With the press pack talking about international football this has created a gap in the market for the ITK charlatans to come crawling out the woodwork.

Since the takeover saga kicked off in April last year, the Saudi-led deal has been the one burning issue on Toon fans’ lips, with supporters desperate for answers after almost 18 months of being left in the dark.

The whole saga has been a rollercoaster, but also extremely divisive, stoking many vitriolic debates on social media which has led to several NUFC fans smashing the block button on more than one occasion - and we suggest you do exactly that to anyone claiming to have their own 'exclusive' on takeover developments.

These “ITK” accounts are out there claiming to know when Mike Ashley’s arbitration case with the Premier League gets underway, the whereabouts of his private jet and even who the Saudi PIF plan to appoint if a legal battle ends in our favour.

Some naive Toon fans have unfortunately been lapping up the lies of these predators, likely more out of hope than any real substance.

We don’t try to be “ITK” here at NUFC Blog. When it comes to takeovers or transfers, we will relay information from a host of genuine sources - whether it be Sky Sports, The Chronicle or a certified journalist - and offer our opinion on that said bit of 'news'.

However, we can, with almost unquestionable certainty, say this: 45-year-old Brian from Benwell does not possess a single iota of inside knowledge about the NUFC takeover or a hot-line to the Saudi PIF.

The only people who know where things are at is Mike Ashley, the Premier League’s top brass, the figureheads of the consortium, and the legal representatives for both parties.

Until an official update is released in the press by a trusted source, do not take anything a fan account claims as gospel.

We are already dealing with one virus in the world at the moment, the Toon Army does not need the scourge of fake news to start spreading as well.

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