After the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case was handed down yesterday morning, Twitter was abuzz with angry commentators wanting to get their thoughts out in 140-character bursts. Much of their vitriol was directed at @SCOTUSblog. Just one problem: the handle @SCOTUSblog is not the Supreme Court. It’s actually the staff of the aptly named SCOTUSblog, which covers the Court’s calendar, cases and other legal news.
Which means that tweets like this one are hilariously misdirected.
This sort of thing just drives you nuts, right? MT @NickNafster79: Head exploding for when @SCOTUSblog makes insane rulings
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) July 1, 2014
This is all quite clear from the SCOTUSblog Twitter page, which identifies the handle as “A private blog about the Supreme Court of the U.S.” Still, the site’s twitter feed has been the recipient of a fair amount of vitriol. At least the bloggers have a decent sense of humor and have been poking fun at the confusion.
Here are some of the highlights:
#2: read a twitter bio RT @bradleytroth: @SCOTUSblog things a real person can do a corporation can’t: adopt a child.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) July 1, 2014
We put them in closets, dear RT @sufferfest: @SCOTUSblog = Hitler. Keep your black robes out of my vagina!
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) July 1, 2014
Or eating the cheap Kung Pao Chicken MT @NYCPainter1: Of all the bad decisions @SCOTUSblog made the last few years, #HobbyLobby is the worst
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 30, 2014
Even when the site tried to tip their hand, some people just didn’t get it.
The passive aggressive way @SCOTUSblog is answering right now is horrible considering the position they just put women in. Not okay.
— Dumb of the Day (@WollyWollenberg) June 30, 2014
And that more than anything explains why you shouldn’t get your legal analysis off Twitter. They have enough trouble with a ten word bio.
