Twitter is in free fall. Where to start? Elon Musk purchased the bird app on October 27 for $44 billion (and yes, he walked into Twitter HQ holding a sink for a “let that sink in” pun).
In just over two weeks, he has cut half the work force, declared comedy both allowed and not allowed, rolled out a disastrous pay-to-play verification system, and most recently, given a failed ultimatum for engineers to commit to working long hours or leave. Many key people in engineering and security roles have reportedly quit, meaning one of the biggest social media platforms is currently running on a skeleton crew.
Of course, the internet has used this moment to work itself into a tizzy over the potential demise of Twitter. While the future of the app remains uncertain, we figured we’d take this moment to round up some of our favorite DC-related Twitter moments. Because no matter what happens, we’ll always have the memories of the DC Twitter community to keep us warm.
The time people purchased verified accounts to impersonate DC elites
When Musk rolled out a function allowing people to buy verified accounts for $8, users immediately hopped on board and began spoofing DC-tangential dignitaries, including former President George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani. This is where we’d embed the faux-former Trump lawyer’s tweets if the parody account @RudyGiulianiESQ wasn’t banned. Sad!
The time a former pro-Trump artist sued the Portrait Gallery director for blocking him
In September, former pro-Trump artist Julian Raven sued the National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet for…blocking him on Twitter. Yes, that really happened.
The time a BTS star made the National Gallery go viral
In 2021, K-pop star and BTS member Kim Nam-joon, known professionally as RM, posted a photo of himself at the National Gallery. It went viral on Twitter and influenced others to recreate the photo at the museum—a trend known as “Namjooning.”
When BTS meets the National Gallery.⭐
Thanks to RM from @bts_bighit for paying a visit to the museum and sharing some of his favorites, including paintings by Giorgio Morandi, Claude Monet, Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Paul Cezanne, Georges Seurat, and more. pic.twitter.com/Xa0WIXVppA
— National Gallery of Art (@ngadc) December 11, 2021
The time a press secretary inspired a Twitter hashtag
When President Biden’s former press secretary Jen Psaki earned a reputation for shutting down reporters, the hashtag #PsakiBomb was born.
Anytime Jen Psaki dunks on a reporter will henceforth be known as a Psaki Bomb.
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) January 29, 2021
The time a C-SPAN anchor lied about his Twitter being hacked
In the decade that was the year 2020, C-SPAN suspended former anchor Steve Scully after he tweeted at former White House press secretary Anthony Scaramucci and then lied about it, saying his Twitter account had been hacked.
C-SPAN's statement about @SteveScully's suspension: "He understands that he made a serious mistake" – but he has a 30-year track record of "fairness and professionalism" – so "after some distance from this episode, we believe in his ability to continue to contribute to C-SPAN." pic.twitter.com/2cUc2T6g8Y
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 15, 2020
The time Dan Snyder created a Twitter account, then locked it
During the week The Washington Post dropped a bombshell report about rampant workplace toxicity and sexism within Washington’s football team, the club’s embattled owner Dan Snyder joined Twitter. He quickly locked his account so that he could approve all followers.
The time Taylor Swift left DC off her tour
Then there was the speculation amongst the DC Twitter community that Dan Snyder’s unfavorable FedEx Field (and his reputation) may have cost DC a chance to host a stop on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.
Uninformed speculation: Taylor Swift will buy the Washington Commanders and announce that she will perform at FedEx Field after all.
— Martin Austermuhle (@maustermuhle) November 2, 2022
Taylor Swift brought down Dan Snyder and saved the Washington Commanders franchise I will not be hearing any other opinions on this matter https://t.co/eEFjiyUJ0X pic.twitter.com/hQiCmT6bMB
— Andrew Gillis (@Andrew_Gillis70) November 2, 2022
The time everyone delighted over Mitt Romney’s burner account
And, of course, no round up would be complete without the all-time classic case of Pierre Delecto, aka Mitt Romney’s burner account, which he apparently used to anonymously lurk on political Twitter. Fingers crossed we’ll get a Pierre Delecto on Mastodon.
