Many celebrities these days have Twitter accounts, but due to the broad spectrum that social media has, many celebrities have multiple twitter accounts, created by others to be parodies. And sometimes, those "fake" accounts could almost have just as many, or even more followers than the celebrity themselves. While browsing through my Twitter feed, a noticed a retweeted tweet from a parody account of the Queen. It was called @Queen_UK, but has gained popularity due to the account's constant reference to "Gin O'Clock." This account has even published a book under the same name. The account has about 830,000 followers and tweets random "sayings" that the "Queen of England" says everyday - such as "Time for gin" or "With the DoE." Another use of it though, is that it keeps up with the news headlines of England and parodies what the Queen's reaction would be. For example, in light of the recent security issues of the Olympics, the Queen tweeted this:
It's funny to see that someone is trying to lighten up the situation that has concerned so many over in the upcoming Olympics. In addition to this, The Queen has also tweeted about the Barclays scandal, Wimbledon, Eurocup, people in Parliament and more. And most end with a remark of "sod it." Although the majority of this twitter account isn't reporting on real stuff, it's a great way to keep up with how the public may view all the negativity in the news. People may look to this as a way to view opinions on the news and can almost be considered a "iReport." **see below** It also tampers the perceptions of the Queen. Being a public figure, it's hard to see the real side of the Queen but by someone putting themselves in her role, people can gather their own conclusion on who she is. Either way, it's light-hearted and different, and it certainly is a funny way to say "God Save the Queen." #ginoclock
**Also, this Twitter account is a #socialvoices contributor to MSN UK News. To see a personal take on the security crisis, the Queen has written her views on it.
Being a huge fun of comedy, I definitely appreciate this parody account; I don't necessarily think it shows the "real Queen," since it's a fake account and is probably much more glib and sarcastic than the Queen actually is. But I do think it might, purposefully or not, change perceptions of the Queen; seeing this parody account and enjoying the funny, light-hearted tweets may subconsciously make people believe that the Queen is as witty and fun as she is portrayed on Twitter. I'm certainly going to follow the "Queen" now!
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ReplyDeleteThis is just another example of how British royalty parallels American celebrity. As Teresa pointed out, though the coverage might be light-hearted and bias, the twitter still stirs discussion and provides information on relevant news. Even though the account has no actual affiliation with the queen, it's able to use her image and popularity to attract an audience. It seems even blatantly false celebrity endorsement has amazing power.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is hilarious. I wonder if she's aware this is going on. If so, I hope she finds it funny.