Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Just Asking Questions
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Print Subscription
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

OFA

Is @BarackObama Like a Parody Twitter Account?

But it has a verified check

Ed Krayewski | 2.19.2014 12:24 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
who?
Twitter

Philip Bump at The Wire writes that the twitter account @barackobama, run by Organizing For Action not the president, is essentially a parody twitter account:

When I spoke with an official from OFA last year, I was told that the organization didn't think people should be confused. The account's bio clearly states it's run by OFA, and it notes that any tweets actually from Obama will be signed "-bo." (Over at least the past four months, there have been zero tweets signed in that way.) But the bio only shows up when you go to twitter.com/barackobama; retweets of OFA's Obama tweets don't indicate that it's not the man himself doing the tweeting.

So what ends up happening is that people (like the confused, mourning girl at right) think they're interacting with Obama, just as people who respond to @WiIIISmith or whatever think they're interacting with the celebrity. And at no point, it seems, has the OFA used the @BarackObama account to clarify to people that they're mistaken in thinking the account is Obama himself (or even his staff) tweeting the president's thoughts.

Bump highlights tweets from the @barackobama account about Michael Sam and about House of Cards, picked up by various media outlets and reported as statements made by the president, not statements from a twitter account run by OFA, the 501(c)4 that is supposed to be primarily about "social welfare" civic issues but also runs @barackobama and barackobama.com.

OFA's 501(c)4 status was made possible by the decision inCitizen's United, and the organization operates under the same rules as a wide swath of opposition 501(c)4s that were given extra scrutiny by the feds. 501(c)4s, in fact, are something Democrats use as a kind of scapegoat even as they rely on their own to try to influence and win elections too.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Photo of Wisconsin National Guard Funeral Training Graduation Captioned "We Put the FUN in Funeral" Being Investigated

Ed Krayewski is a former associate editor at Reason.

OFABarack ObamaSocial MediaFree SpeechTechnology
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (7)

Latest

This Year's Nobel Winners for Economics Explained How Innovation Makes Us Rich

Billy Binion | 10.13.2025 5:16 PM

California Wants To Punish Social Platforms for Aiding and Abetting the First Amendment

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 10.13.2025 12:02 PM

The U.S. Military Is Helping Arab Dictatorships Run Psyops

Matthew Petti | 10.13.2025 11:18 AM

All 20 Surviving Hostages Freed

Liz Wolfe | 10.13.2025 9:30 AM

He Was Charged With a Federal Offense for Running Up a Mountain

Jacob Sullum | From the November 2025 issue

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300