Tech

Having a name similar to Matt Gaetz is rough when he’s implicated in a child abuse scandal

One is a senior fellow at Media Matters; the other is a member of Congress.

Photo of Claire Goforth

Claire Goforth

A list of tweets from Matthew Gertz.

Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters for America, has the unfortunate curse of having a similar name and handle as one of the most notorious members of Congress: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Featured Video

Every few weeks, Gaetz’s name explodes in the news—often for something he tweeted or said. The Fox News frequent offender and staunch defender of former President Donald Trump has a knack for making headlines.

Gaetz is presently at the center of a scandal about an alleged investigation into his purported sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, which he claims is false and actually part of an attempt by a former Justice Department official to extort him and his wealthy family.

For Matt Gertz, every news cycle dominated by the man who pressed charges against a woman for throwing a slushy at him sets a familiar pattern in motion: people on Twitter confusing the two.

Advertisement

Gertz’s mentions are full of people trolling on the wrong person.

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1377232174982823941?s=20

Gertz has an admirable sense of humor about the frequent mix-ups. Rather than get angry or clap back, he responds to tweets cursing at him, calling him terrible names like “child molester,” and accusing him of “running scared“—all of which are obviously intended for Gaetz—with two words, “wrong guy.”

Advertisement

To combat the confusion, Gertz has even added to his bio, “Definitely NOT the GOP congressman.”

Alas, people on Twitter can’t be bothered to confirm they’re tagging the right person, which should be easy given that their names aren’t spelled the same.

Gertz’s followers and even family have learned that every time Matt Gaetz starts trending, Gertz’s mentions are about to blow up in a bad way.

Advertisement

After news of the investigation into Gaetz broke on Tuesday, Gertz posted a screenshot of a text from his father with a link to the New York Times story about it. “Your life is hell,” his father wrote.

Advertisement
https://twitter.com/adamndsmith/status/1377232768292249600?s=20

Gertz can take some solace in the fact that, while it may genuinely suck for people to think you had dinner with Tucker Carlson, it could be much, much worse.

Advertisement

Just ask Gerry Sandusky and Jeff Epstein.


Read more of the Daily Dot’s tech and politics coverage

Nevada’s GOP secretary of state candidate follows QAnon, neo-Nazi accounts on Gab, Telegram
Court filing in Bored Apes lawsuit revives claims founders built NFT empire on Nazi ideology
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Say hi to the Donald for us’: Florida police briefed armed right-wing group before they went to Jan. 6 protest
Inside the Proud Boys’ ties to ghost gun sales
‘Judas’: Gab users are furious its founder handed over data to the FBI without a subpoena
EXCLUSIVE: Anti-vax dating site that let people advertise ‘mRNA FREE’ semen left all its user data exposed
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
 
The Daily Dot