At least 59,120 Twitter users have a very poor understanding of how Twitter works.
That’s how many have retweeted, in the wake of Friday’s tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn., a false message that promises to help victims if it’s retweeted.
While it would be nice if it were true—that’s already $295,600 in charity—it’s pretty obvious it’s from a parody account.
The tweet seems to come from someone posing as Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. @RobertoLuongo_1, who posted the Connecticut tweet, is often uncouth. In addition to tweeting that fake promise of money to victims a second time (that one got 15,425 retweets), his account’s riddled with the sentiments of a middle school hockey fan.
“I have stopped wiping my bum, way to time consuming, gotta train for this years hockey season,” reads one bon mot. “Im straight and like girls! #ShitRobertoNeverSays” goes another.
For context, President Obama’s victory declaration: “Four more years,” accompanied with a photo of himself hugging the First Lady, became the most retweeted Twitter post of all time on Nov. 7, with 302,176 RTs. That record probably won’t be beaten anytime soon, as it’s since more than doubled to 816,837.
@RobertoLuongo_1 didn’t respond to request for comment. And if some Twitter users get their wish, it won’t be a valid account much longer.
“We’re working to shut the account down. All over it,” tweeted @VanCanucks, the official Canucks Twitter account.
“U R disgusting sick person to make light of this horrible tragedy!” tweeted Jamal Mayers, who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks. “Karma is coming your way, imposter for a retweet?”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story claimed that another Roberto Luongo Twitter account belonged to the player himself. It now appears that neither that account nor @RobertoLuongo_1 is authentic.
Photo via @RobertoLuongo_1/Twitter