Fake BP Twitter Account Sheds Dark Comical Light on Oil Spill

A satirical Twitter feed called @BPGlobalPR is making news for its clever, but often dark tweets. The Twitter account is entirely fictional, although it has confused and outraged some who mistook it for the real deal. To many others, however, the account is amusing and helps take some of the focus off the current catastrophe. Examples of @BPGlobalPR's posts include: “Of course, bp cares about the fishing industry as well. Now, all the tuna from the gulf coast comes pre-packaged in oil” and “If Top Kill doesn’t work, we’re just gonna toss a giant ‘Get Well Soon’ card into the gulf and hope for the best.”

BP has not yet taken any action to remove the fake Twitter account, despite that it may be in violation of Twitter’s terms of service. Meanwhile, the account continues to misrepresent the brand and poke fun at the situation.

@BPGlobalPR mocks that BP is not taking the Gulf disaster seriously. BP does not appear to be doing much of its own public relations work, making it even easier for @BPGlorbalPR to jokingly handle the company’s PR for them. The account currently has over 120,000 thousand followers, while the real BP Twitter account, @BP_America, has only a little over 10,000 followers. Some feel this fake account is adding to BP’s PR nightmare and also pokes fun at the field of public relations itself. Others, however, think BP would benefit from embracing this account.

If BP convinces Twitter to shut down @BPGlobalPR’s account, they run the risk of looking like a bully who can’t take a joke. Outspoken Media suggests that BP should join forces with the fake Twitter account and make the negative press and attack work for them.

What do you think BP should do about the fake twitter account and their current lack of public relations?


This guest blog was written by staff member Trish Wyatt.