‘Hate to Disappoint, But…’ Screenshots of Tweets Mocking Trump for Needing ‘Kneepads for Visiting the Kremlin’ Aren’t Actually From Jen Psaki

Sarah RumpfJun 19th, 2022, 7:21 pm
 

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki poured a bucket of cold water on some Twitter hoaxers on Sunday, pointing out that screenshots that purported to be posted by a “@psaki” account were a parody and not her real tweets.

Screenshots that said they were from @psaki and showing Psaki’s name, photo, and Twitter’s blue check for verified accounts began circulating this weekend, showing messages that were considerably edgier than her usual tone. Several referenced President Joe Biden’s recent tumble during a bicycle ride to mock former President Donald Trump:

@psaki parody tweet

@psaki parody tweet

The images included, as a number of astute observers pointed out, a label that they were a “Parody by Back Rub.” Taking credit for the satirical fake tweets was an account called “Faith Back Rub,” which tweeted that they wanted to be a “Christian Onion.”

Still, even with the parody designation, enough people were fooled that the real Psaki decided to let her 1.2 million followers know those weren’t her words.

“Hate to disappoint, but…This is not my account,” she tweeted from her verified @jrpsaki account, adding that the fake tweets were “not approved by me on any level.” Psaki also pointed out that “Parody” label.

As for the prankster’s account, it had no objection to Psaki distancing herself from her parodic doppelgänger, retweeting her tweet and adding several tweets advocating for the use of parody and satire as “art forms which are perhaps needed now more than ever,” which “bypasses people’s defenses” to opposing views and “makes them think.” Even if some people are fooled by parody, the account argued, it “can wake them up to how easily they believe what they read online” and “can make them more critical next time.”

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.