Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Photo by Flickr, CC 2.0.
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
Martina Navratilova. Image on Flickr by user Andrew Campbell, (CC 2.0.
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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