A financial planner who has the same name as George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents in the Russia probe, got caught in the crosshairs of angry internet users who mistakenly took him for the Trump-related one.
The problem is apparently connected with the fact that the Trump-related Papadopoulos doesn't have a verified account on Twitter.
Thus, the first account that appears in the search engine is that of the financial planner, who has nothing to do with the 2016 US election campaign and President Donald Trump himself.
For the nth time, I am NOT Trump's foreign policy adviser! I have NO association with the Trump camp! NONE!
— George Papadopoulos (@feeonlyplanner) 30 октября 2017 г.
The financial analyst was visiting his mother in Greece when he learned about Papadopoulos, the political one, from newspapers.
But right afterwards, the man received thousands of tweets addressed to him (or rather to another person with his name), many of which contained accusations and warnings.
Are you tweeting in court?
— Dr ola (@olarchi) 30 октября 2017 г.
Wow Trump is so toxic his SENIOR CAMPAIGN ADVISOR is denying even knowing the guy. What a crook!
— Pres. HRC's Emails (@impeacheagle) 31 октября 2017 г.
However,when Twitter users learned that he is innocent that started expressing their sympathy and even admiration.
I'm loving how much fun you're having with this! Good for you! 😂
— Naila Farouky (@nfarouky) 31 октября 2017 г.
I see you have embraced the madness. Peace be with you, sir.:)
— Logan Murphy (@LoganMurphy1) 31 октября 2017 г.
You are so cool. You’re handling this like a champ. 😎
— me.myself.and.i (@NJFarmer312) 31 октября 2017 г.
"I am visiting Greece to help my mother go to some doctor appointments, find her a new place to move to, and other affairs. Of course I am enjoying her home cooking. I had just finished my lunch and the deluge of emails and tweets started. It has not really stopped," the man said in an interview with TIME.
The innocent Papadopoulos expressed hope that Twitter hysteria around his name will soon come to an end and that his life will become normal again.
The former campaign adviser of US President Donald Trump, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty on October 5 to making false statements to FBI agents during the investigation of Russia's alleged interference in the US presidential election, according to the US Justice Department.
Commenting on the issue, US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that Papadopoulos was in a volunteer position ahead of the election and that his role in the Trump campaign "was extremely limited."
The Russian alleged interference described by US President Donald Trump as a "witch hunt" is being separately investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate. Russian officials have strongly refuted allegations of Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential vote, calling them "absurd."