How a joke about NBC and stupid Americans went viral on Twitter
ON Twitter, the closing ceremony to the London 2012 Olympics was punctuated by Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy tweeting:
NBC Commentator: “That is not actually Batman but a British folk hero known as Del Boy. Sort of like Robin Hood…”
It was a joke. But, apparently, many tweeters thought it was real. He adds:
My tweet about the NBC commentator and Del Boy was a joke. Speaks volumes that people thought it was a genuine quote.
And:
People, including BBC journalists, are now copying my joke tweet about NBC commentators as fact :S #closingceremony
The retweets were many but worse were the Twitter pundits passing off the quote as something they had heard first hand. Odd given that this is NBC – where the show is always pre-recorded.
Those who find it easy to believe in dumb America include:
Ben Fogle @Benfogle – NBC “That is not actually Batman but a British folk hero knownas Del Boy. Sort of like Robin Hood” Oops My bad. Not enough cultural sharingLaura Holmwood @Lauraholmwood – Joy! RT NBC Commentator: “That is not actually Batman but aBritish folk hero known as Del Boy. Sort of like Robin Hood”@theJeremyVine NBC Commentator: “That is not actually Batmanbut a British folk hero known as Del Boy. Sort of like RobinHood”
Iain McIntyre @Iain1970 – NBC commentary strikes again! “ThatisnotactuallyBatmanbutaBritishfolkheroknownasDelBoy.SortoflikeRobin Hood”
Posted: 12th, August 2012 | In: Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
