You may or may not have seen Pete Buttigieg supporters doing his official campaign dance routine set to Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes.” It’s extraordinarily cringeworthy and was begging for a parody. The comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade obliged, putting together a Michael Bloomberg dance called “Moves Like Bloomberg” and set to “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5.
Look out #TeamPete because us Bloomberg Heads have our own dance! Taken at the Mike Bloomberg rally in Beverly Hills. #Bloomberg2020 #MovesLikeBloomberg pic.twitter.com/UCNo0fRZcE
— Nick Ciarelli (@nickciarelli) December 13, 2019
Vulture explains that it was not taken at a Mike Bloomberg rally, and pointed out a number of high-profile figures who had retweeted it or commented on it, including Donald Trump Jr., Sebastian Gorka, and New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.
"We really didn’t think it would trick people. In our heads we were just like, This is a dumb comedy bit, and people will know that we’re comedians" https://t.co/FR1BCbgRIJ
— Vulture (@vulture) December 17, 2019
Haberman came up with an explanation of why she interacted with the video:
The guys who created the Bloomberg parody video can’t understand why reporters who covered Bloomberg previous campaigns didn’t instantly recognize it as parody > https://t.co/1s0I5FDo07
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 17, 2019
So, Bloomberg campaigns are so routinely cringe-inducing that it was hard to tell it was a parody? Will Snopes be fact-checking this one?
???
— cell phone\self-own♿️ (@g3thaunted) December 17, 2019
you're still mad you got tricked by this?
— JB the #breadtruth?? soyboy (@JustHavingATime) December 17, 2019
I’m sorry they tricked you
— Need A Robin Thicke Christmas Album (@tom_on_here) December 17, 2019
You don’t have to advertise that you are bad at your job, you know.
— Patrick Fisackerly (@fisackerly) December 17, 2019
It's extremely on brand for a New York Times reporter to think that if they were fooled by something, it must be so deviously subtle that no one could have figured it out
— BaronHaynes (@baronhaynes) December 17, 2019
— dont harsh my mel00 (@DrewWryly) December 17, 2019
I am not even a highly paid journalist covering national politics and I realized this was fake in literally 5 seconds my secret is that I looked at the account that posted it pulitzer please
— Latest Tweets (@BlackMetalSonic) December 17, 2019
hI Maggie im a nigerian Prince and if u sned me $150,00 dolars i wil mayke sure no 1 trICks u on Tiwtter agian
— Chad Quawful (@Chad_Quawful) December 17, 2019
it'd be cool if there was a whole profession dedicated to investigating things and then reporting their findings
— I'm like an empty bottle drained of everything lef (@__cakejack) December 17, 2019
I've never had more faith in the veracity of your reporting on the White House as I do now
— ?⛄️ Eoin Jinglins ⛄️? (@EoinHiggins_) December 17, 2019
I too have reached for a piece of gum only for it to be a buzzing device in disguise
— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) December 17, 2019
Twitter + the rush to be first has made a mockery of basic journalistic principles. There's no way to sugarcoat it.
— The Left Coast: Arizona Edition (@WestEschaton) December 17, 2019
you probably wouldn't have been tricked if you tried harder at your job
— Sam Sykes (@SamSykesSwears) December 17, 2019
Maggie, with all due respect, we expect reporters to do due diligence before disseminating information, including in this case performing the very very very (very!) basic task of taking even a cursory look at the poster’s twitter timeline
— Rat Milk Oreos (@morrtis_) December 17, 2019
absolutely places an undue burden on the reporter. impossible to imagine a scenario where anyone would have the time or foresight to scroll through their tweets or google their names.
— guy doing earnest karaoke in an empty bar (@colsauce) December 17, 2019
probably because it was an obvious parody posted by two established (and googleable) internet comedians filmed inside one of the most well-known comedy theaters in los angeles
— Stephen LaConte (@stephenlc) December 17, 2019
Instantly recognizing parody is one thing but isnt it reasonable to expect reporters to do a minute of research before sharing something they’re unsure is real
— JEREMY (@jeremylevick) December 17, 2019
As a New York Times columnist who was cruelly tricked by this video I think those guys should be in jail
— Sam (@SamFraserNYT) December 17, 2019
reporters could have … you know … reported before writing about it. it was literally one click away from finding out.
— Eric O. (@eorvieto) December 17, 2019
The video has been framed as a parody by its supporters, and as a dangerous infringement on seeming competent by dumbass reporters
— David Weiner (@daweiner) December 17, 2019
Maggie, you can just tweet, "I'm bad at my job," next time.
— Bob Gurnett (@BobIsntFunny) December 17, 2019
Please keep dying on this hill, queen.
— Justin Christmas-affier (@JustinCaffier) December 17, 2019
We’re willing to cut Haberman and the others some slack; that Pete Buttigieg dance looks a lot like a parody too, but it’s all too real.
Related:
CNN still hung up on that President Trump as Thanos meme days later https://t.co/BN6ttZmWl9
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 14, 2019
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