Current:Home > ScamsStop tweeting @liztruss your congratulatory messages. That's not Britain's new PM -消息
Stop tweeting @liztruss your congratulatory messages. That's not Britain's new PM
View
Date:2025-04-17 15:12:58
After Liz Truss was announced as the winner of her Conservative Party's leadership vote on Monday — and officially appointed by Queen Elizabeth the following day — constituents, politicians and world leaders took to Twitter to share their reactions and messages to Britain's newest prime minister.
Some of them tried to get her attention by including the handle @LizTruss. But rather than tagging the U.K. leader, who actually uses the handle @trussliz, they reached a woman named Liz Trussell. And, to the delight of many spectators, she's having fun with it.
When one user erroneously tagged her in a tweet announcing Truss' win, Trussell replied, "Gonna be busy." On another announcing the vote tally, she commented, "Yay! Go me!!!"
Even Sweden's prime minister wasn't safe from the confusion. On Monday, her account mistakenly tagged Trussell in a congratulatory tweet (which has since been deleted and reposted with the right tag) emphasizing cooperation between the two countries.
"Looking forward to a visit soon!" Trussell responded. "Get the Meatballs ready."
NPR has reached out to Trussell for comment.
She responded to one congratulatory tweet with "Thanks Hun" and a kissy-face emoji, and another — which praised her for showing that the "best man for a job is a woman" — with "preach sister" and the raised hands emoji.
Trussell also took criticism in stride. When one user hopped on a critical thread to add that they "bet she likes cake," she responded affirmatively (the icing on top was a pink cake emoji).
Last month, when a critic tagged Trussell in a tweet slamming Truss for "refusing" to be interviewed by the BBC, her response included an emoji of a shrugging woman.
"No one asked me," she wrote.
Trussell, who appears to have returned to Twitter this spring after several years offline, has gotten mixed up with the new prime minister — who most recently served as foreign secretary — several times in recent months. Well before that, she was mistakenly tagged in a member of parliament's tweet back in 2019.
Many of the users who accidentally waded into the Truss vs. Trussell minefield in recent weeks have ended up deleting their tweets (after all, Twitter is only just now testing out an "edit" feature) and apologizing to Trussell for the confusion.
One such example is Caroline Lucas, MP and former Green Party leader, who wrote this week that she meant to direct a previous tweet about Tory leadership at Truss, not Trussell, "tho frankly she'd probably make a better job of it."
"I'm in!" Trussell commented. "Vegas for everybody!!!"
Indeed, Trussell seems to be winning over plenty of admirers, whether it's from her platform, her attentive replies, her fitting Twitter handle or simply the fact that she's not Truss.
In recent days, her fans have been rooting for her to take on the prime ministership herself — or at the very least, get some sort of reward (perhaps some Nandos sandwiches, as one suggested) for putting up with the Twitter bombardment.
One user gave Trussell a "standing ovation" and expressed her hopes that she might get "some meatballs + an invite from the Queen for tea ... for her troubles."
"@RoyalFamily I'm available tomorrow," Trussell replied.
Fans have tweeted about starting a petition to make Trussell the new PM and wishing for her to be whisked away to Downing Street and onto the cover of Vogue. At one point, she suggested her own campaign slogan: #InTrussellWeTrust.
Some have even said that the mistake should apply to real life. One jokingly suggested that if Trussell got to Balmoral before Truss did and showed her ID, the queen would have to name her prime minister instead.
"I'm on my way," Trussell responded.
Another said, "there must be a way the new Prime Minister can be appointed via Twitter and the Queen accidentally appoints [Trussell] instead." Trussell seemed on board: "Me and Queen Liz would deffo be besties."
Trussell is the latest in a long line of ordinary people to be mistaken for high-profile — and sometimes controversial — public figures because of their names and, specifically, social media usernames.
Over the years, people with similar names have spoken out about being confused for former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the late civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis. Media Matters fellow Matthew Gertz has repeatedly reminded people on Twitter that he is not Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
And it's not the first time a case of mistaken Twitter identity has affected a British prime minister.
In 2017, then-President Donald Trump meant to tag then-PM Theresa May in a tweet but instead tagged @theresamay, a British woman in her 40s with six Twitter followers and a protected account. She later said she'd been asleep when it happened, and only found out when she was subsequently bombarded with messages and interview requests.
veryGood! (3787)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Heavy rains ease around Houston but flooding remains after hundreds of rescues and evacuations
- Gap Factory's Sale Is Up to 75% Off & The Deals Will Have You Clicking Add To Cart ASAP
- ‘Build Green’ Bill Seeks a Clean Shift in Transportation Spending
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Billie Eilish, Zendaya, Kylie Jenner and More Stars' First Met Gala Appearances Are a Blast From the Past
- Belgian man arrested on suspicion of murdering his companion in 1994 after garden excavation turns up human remains
- United Methodists took historic steps toward inclusion but ‘big tent’ work has just begun
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Columbia cancels main commencement; universities crackdown on encampments: Live updates
Ranking
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Bus crash on Maryland highway leaves 1 dead, multiple injured: What to know
- When and where you can see the Eta Aquariids meteor shower peak
- Person falls from stands to their death during Ohio State graduation ceremony
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Obi Ezeh, a former Michigan football and all-Big Ten standout LB, dies at 36
- Husband of Florida woman missing in Spain is charged with her disappearance
- Jake Paul reiterates respect for Mike Tyson but says he has 'to end him' during July fight
Recommendation
Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
Millions of people across Oklahoma, southern Kansas at risk of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms
Civil rights leader Daisy Bates and singer Johnny Cash to replace Arkansas statues at the US Capitol
The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 3 With Husband Chris Siegfried
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Shop $8 Gymshark Leggings, $10 BaubleBar Bracelets, $89 Platform Beds & 99 More Deals
Lando Norris wins first Formula 1 race, snaps Max Verstappen's streak at Miami Grand Prix
The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 3 With Husband Chris Siegfried