Wisconsin Right Now parody account owner says distain for false information is what drives spoof

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A recently launched parody account of the Wisconsin Right Now account has appeared on Twitter and the Wisconsin Law Journal had an exclusive interview with the account owner.

According to Twitter rules and regulations, while impersonation is a violation of the Twitter Rules, parody accounts are allowed under certain circumstances. However,  accounts that pose as another person, group, or organization in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended under Twitter’s misleading and deceptive identities policy.

A parody account is allowed under Twitter Rules provided that the parody account is labeled as such. The Wisconsin Right Now Parody account appears to be in compliance with Twitter’s rules as it is labeled as a parody account.

Finding out who is behind the anonymous account isn’t easy. Legal experts have told the Wisconsin Law Journal that issuing a subpoena is easy, but whether it would hold any weight or whether Twitter would have to disclose is a good question.

During an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal on Tuesday, the Wisconsin-based parody account owner spoke on the condition of anonymity.

When asked why he/she created the parody account the response was, “I’ve been really paying attention to Wisconsin Right Now since they started intentionally spreading misinformation during the February primary election about Janet Protasiewicz. They use a veneer of journalism to take things we all know to be false and try to pressure legitimate outlets to cover,” the parody account owner said.

“We’ve all seen the leaked DMs about Republican operatives starting rumors about Justice Janet. They heavily ‘reported’ this fiction as fact, and they did so to undermine an election,” the account owner noted.

“They have been intentionally spreading misinformation to try and sway an election. I had some serious issues with that,” the owner added.

According to the parody account owner, “I didn’t consider this little project until they started their “campaign” about how Becca Cooke can’t be in Congress based on her looks. 

The real (not parody) Wisconsin Right Now Twitter account tweeted several times about Cookes’ physical appearance and age. 

The parody account owner confirmed that he/she is in no way affiliated with the Cooke campaign. “But I was offended that a ‘news organization’ was doing what they were doing to a very qualified and hard working candidate,” the parody account owner said.

Cooke announced her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin’s Third District back in July.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, former La Crosse County Board Chair Tara Johnson recently joined former small-business owner Rebecca Cooke, who ran for the seat and lost last year in the primary, and Aaron Nytes, a Harvard Law School student, in seeking to represent the Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District, which is comprised of parts of central, southwestern and western Wisconsin, including moderate suburbs of Minnesota’s Twin Cities.

“About 2 weeks ago, I noticed Wisconsin Right Now bragging about their SEO prowess (in relation to another story). Needless to say, I have not found them to be nearly as internet savvy as they seem to think they are (#HashtagOveruse). While brainstorming some ideas to help bring that to life, this Twitter account was born. It’s worth noting that Jim has literally co-mingled his realty company with WRN. They have it linked in their header and he blogs about buying and selling homes through the same domain they are using to spread dangerous misinformation,” the parody account owner noted.

“They are attempting to use the cover of journalism as a weapon. I’m offended as a citizen. Nothing more,” the parody account owner said.

In response, Wisconsin Right Now’s real account tweeted, “You know you’re over the target when the left makes a parody site of your page.”

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, losing Supreme Court Candidate Dan Kelly reappeared on Twitter in the form of a parody account, after wiping his entire campaign account’s social media presence.

The Wisconsin Law Journal reached out to Wisconsin Right Now on Wednesday afternoon requesting a comment. No response was received prior to publication on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. CST.