A famous tennis player thought she was talking to Argentina's president on Twitter last week, but she actually engaged a popular parody account. Martina Navratilova, a retired Czech and American tennis player and coach, got into it with someone pretending to be Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
What did @MiaFarrow and @Martina do during Argentine dictatorship? Act in silly movies, play tennis? My husband an I were guerrilla fighters
— CFK Gelatina (@CFKGelatina) febrero 5, 2015
Unaware of the parody Twitter handle, which uses in its name the word “Gelatina” (“jelly” in Spanish), Martina replied with two tweets:
@CFKGelatina @MiaFarrow well at least you didn't say I played silly tennis, so there is that:). Really? You are questioning me about what?
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) febrero 5, 2015
@CFKGelatina @MiaFarrow and what did you do about the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, eh? Come on…:):) did you tweet about that?!?:)
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) febrero 5, 2015
The Cristina Fernández parody account tweeted back:
Come on @Martina your tennis was lousy! The only man you defeated was Vitas Gerulaitis who played after partying three days in a row.
— CFK Gelatina (@CFKGelatina) febrero 5, 2015
President Cristina Fernadez's real Twitter handle, it so happens, is @CFKCristina. Some Twitter users rushed to draw Navratilova's attention to her mistake, hoping to spare her any more embarrassment:
no seas boluda @Martina, @CFKGelatina es un fake, sacate para protegerte
— Bruno Correa (@br1correa) febrero 5, 2015
Don't be silly, Martina, @CFKGelatina is fake. Get out for your protection.
@MiaFarrow @Martina Ms. Farrow , @CFKGelatina is fake. Please do not respond. Cristina Fernandez's official account is @CFKArgentina
— Victor Tutú (@victorfyt) febrero 5, 2015
The whole incident prompted mockery and reactions by other users:
La pobre @Martina cayó en la joda, pero quién puede culparla, si @CFKGelatina es indistinguible de la otra…
— Pablo Flores (@pablodf76) febrero 5, 2015
Poor thing! Martina believed this was serious, but who can blame her, if @CFKGelatina is indistinguishable from the other…
La cuenta @CFKGelatina es más seria que la original, imaginate.
— El Cayetano (@Silloness) febrero 5, 2015
The account @CFKGelatina is more serious that the original, go figure.
@CFKGelatina @SalvajeUnitario ya me parecía raro leer a la PLESINDENTA escribiendo english, si ella solo habla “chino” y muuy malamenteee!!
— Flaca® (@Flaca_70) febrero 5, 2015
I was considering it odd to read the PLESIDENT [sic] writing English, she only speaks “Chinese” and veeerry badly!!
This last tweet refers to the uproar caused by a recent tweet—considered by many to be racist—that Fernández published during a visit to China, where she seemed to mock of the way Chinese people mistake the letter “R” for “L.”
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