“BP” Twitter Account is One Big Joke

Check out the Twitter feed @BPGlobalPR, and you might blow a few blood vessels … at least if you’re already angry about that oil spill thingy happening in the Gulf. Or you may just bust a gut laughing.

“We regretfully admit that something has happened off of the Gulf Coast. More to come,” read the account’s first tweet May 19. And, like the spill itself, things only got worse from there.

“Oh man, this whole time we've been trying to stop SEAWATER from gushing into our OIL. Stupid Terry was holding the diagram upside down,” read one of yesterday’s tweets. 

And today: “The ocean looks just a bit slimmer today. Dressing it in black really did the trick! #bpcares.”

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, you’ve probably already figured out that this Twitter feed is both as funny and “real” as that of @DrunkHulk. Meaning that @BPGlobalPR is fake — a satirical take on BP’s actual Twitter feed, with 23,666 followers and growing. (The real company account, @BP_America has less than 5,000 followers.)

Since @BPGlobalPR (just barely) conforms to Twitter’s guidelines on parody, commentary and fan accounts and, according to industry publication Ad Age, BP hasn’t requested the account’s removal, the account continues to spew hilarity into the void.

Notably, @BPGlobalPR recently switched its account logo from the real BP’s green and yellow icon to a black and white version featuring an oil stain. Still, the real BP may better serve its drowning public image by avoiding what would seem to many a petty fight in cyberspace, and impress upon the world that all attention is focuses on the company’s more serious problems in the real world.

“People are entitled to their views on what we're doing and we have to live with those,” BP spokesperson Toby Odone told Ad Age. “We are doing the best we can to deal with the current situation and to try to stop the oil from flowing and to then clean it up.”

Meanwhile, tweets sent directly to @BPGlobalPR reveal that not everybody on the microblogging site gets the joke. For example, @BELGARATH83 tweeted, “@ BPGlobalPR Here's an idea: How about find a way to fix the oil leaking into the environment faster than the current?”

Or maybe they do get the joke and just don’t think it’s funny. As @kpink1025 wrote, “@ BPGlobalPR Do you realize your mockery of the situation justifies any negitive feeback you've recieved? Just plain ignorance.” (sic)

The identity (or identities) behind @BPGlobalPR remains unknown — but whoever’s behind the fake account is doing more than blowing 140 characters or less on comedy. For $25, fans of @BPGlobalPR (but not the oil spill) can purchase “ BP Cares” T-shirts, with proceeds benefitting conservation group, The Gulf Restoration Network.

What’s more, as @BPGlobal PR recently tweeted, “We just saw a shark fight an octopus inside the geyser. Almost made this whole thing worth it.”

Copyright MSNBC - MSNBC
Contact Us