Huffington Post political reporter Sam Stein published a tweet a little while ago in regards to why President Obama did not wait until after the House vote to make remarks about the bill that would re-open government and raise the debt ceiling:
WH aide on timing of this speech: The President and First Lady didn't want to cancel their tickets for the 9:10 showing of Gravity
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) October 17, 2013
After expressing surprise that so many people were actually believing something a Huffington Post reporter wrote, Stein made it clear he was just kidding:
I WAS JOKING!
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) October 17, 2013
oh my god. i apologize to WH comms team if they get questions about POTUS going to see Gravity tonight. It was a joke. i'm sorry!
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) October 17, 2013
I'm erasing the tweet. two reporters have now asked me if the Gravity excursion is true
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) October 17, 2013
At the time this post was published, Stein had yet to delete the tweet.
Next time it might be wise to point out that it was a joke in the same tweet (a simple “jk” works wonders):
.@SabrinaSiddiqui @samsteinhp honestly though: sarcasm and journalism don’t mix (except when it’s only other journos around)
— Graham Webster (@gwbstr) October 17, 2013
Stein’s “joke” was re-tweeted well over 100 times, because for many it fairly believable:
https://twitter.com/RyanJCroft/status/390641271829979136
.@samsteinhp I totally believed it. Everyone did. It seemed like something the Obama's would do.
— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) October 17, 2013
@samsteinhp This whole process has been so silly, your tweet came off as legit. I fell for it too. HAHA
— Jeb (@tatsumaki4ryu) October 17, 2013
https://twitter.com/Brock_Handsome2/status/390652679514783744
@LDoren @samsteinhp Fake, but believable.
— GayPatriot™ (@GayPatriot) October 17, 2013
@UrbanAchievr Bah. Didn't know @samsteinhp was big on satire. Lesson learned.
— Razor (@hale_razor) October 17, 2013
Or perhaps when Stein tweeted that the Obamas were seeing “Gravity” at 9:10, he was indeed joking, but for a more minor reason:
@samsteinhp So you're saying Gravity actually starts at 9:40 PM?
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner) October 17, 2013
Ha!
