A fake Nintendo Twitter account titled ‘@nIntendoofus’ has trolled Twitter by acquiring a verified blue tick and then tweeting an image of Mario sticking his middle finger up.
The tweet appeared at first to be from the gaming brand itself due to the brand icon used and the name ‘Nintendo of America’ appearing next to the Twitter handle. However, Twitter users soon discovered that the account was false and that the tweet was in fact a hoax.
The news comes a week after Elon Musk suggested that verified accounts on Twitter may have to pay £6.85 ($8) a month for the privilege of a having ‘blue tick’ next to their Twitter usernames. This is despite Musk facing a user backlash over proposals to charge for the feature.
Many users of the app have reacted to the now deleted viral tweet with mixed positive and negative views.
While user ‘@LinkyTay’ proclaimed that they must archive the “beautiful image”, another wrote that “nintendoofus may be the most genius handle of all time”.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier replied to the out of character Mario image by saying: “Can’t imagine why all the advertisers are pulling out of Twitter lmao”.
Can't imagine why all the advertisers are pulling out of Twitter lmao pic.twitter.com/pg55WXkxhS
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 9, 2022
Videographer, director and editor ‘@themattprov’ also weighed in on the viral tweet writing: “Every single advertiser is about to drop Twitter in the next 48 hours. Person creates fake Nintendo Twitter account, pays $8, gets verified immediately and within 2 hours, all their sh**posts go viral. Real Nintendo account gets spammed with complaints.”
Every single advertiser is about to drop Twitter in the next 48 hours. Person creates fake Nintendo Twitter account, pays $8, gets verified immediately and within 2 hours, all their sh**posts go viral. Real Nintendo account gets spammed with complaints. pic.twitter.com/7CZcwYJDsd
— Matt (@themattprov) November 9, 2022
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