Twitter’s top dog reviewer was in trouble again.
Months after @Dog_Rates (which giddily critiques dog images sent to account operator Matt Nelson) got suspended thanks to a bogus DMCA complaint from a troll who wanted to steal followers, it seemingly faced another attack that involved false identities. This time, Nelson said, someone was impersonating a fan who submitted her dog for a rating, in order to again shut down the account on copyright grounds.
Such are the joys of maintaining a viral content feed.
After trying to address the problem directly with the user…
…he appealed to Twitter to intercede on behalf of his 500,000 followers.
But it turned out to be those fans who made the difference. They reported the apparent spam account en masse, and the adorable fridge dog’s true owner stepped forward with proof that Nelson hadn’t stolen content.
everyone go report her, if enough peopke do it, she'll get removed. @madih67343310 https://t.co/JQ7kxBbGQ9
— P (@o_look_a_ginger) October 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/MGSorice/status/790967065788223488
https://twitter.com/Quaraque/status/790967443535659008
proof that Im the REAL owner of Duke and the pics of him. I gave permission to post and none of the info in the report is my info pic.twitter.com/L6OjmIcC5U
— Madi H. (@madii_h_) October 25, 2016
THATS MY PICTURE YOURE USING AND MY DOG YOURE CLAIMING WAS USED WITHOUT YOUR "PERMISSION"
— Madi H. (@madii_h_) October 25, 2016
Poor Duke getting caught up in this mess… all he wanted to do was break the internet with his h*ckin cuteness 😫 @dog_rates pic.twitter.com/i0XeBpdSSO
— Madi H. (@madii_h_) October 25, 2016
In the end, the counteroffensive proved successful, and @madih67343310, not @dog_rates, was the account that disappeared. Afterward, of course, it was time for a quick victory lap with—who else?—a very good dog.
This is Misty. She has a cowboy hat on her nose. 12/10 pic.twitter.com/Eno0mypHIr
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) October 25, 2016
Misty also said she will fight anyone who tries to take her post down
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) October 25, 2016
Curiously, the kerfuffle distracted from a different issue some had with Duke, the puppy who figured out the miracle of air conditioning: that letting your dog nap where you keep your food is white people nonsense.
"White people shit" pic.twitter.com/QNn0gfJyis
— matt (@dogfather) October 24, 2016
So confused at this point pic.twitter.com/YfnKtWTkKN
— matt (@dogfather) October 24, 2016
It's still happening pic.twitter.com/OX9KSSdIzS
— matt (@dogfather) October 25, 2016
This really has to be the most controversial dog photo on the internet. But just to make things perfectly clear: 1) It’s not your dog, unless you’re Madi Hoops, and 2) it’s not your fridge he likes to relax in. So, you know… chill.