Twitter user @Umpire43 — the guy responsible for the rumor that the Washington Post paid “1000$” for the Judge Roy Moore story, is gone from Twitter:
It’s not clear if he deleted the account himself or if Twitter booted from the platform. This comes after the account mass deleted all of its tweets on Monday:
The Twitter account that launched the hoax that WaPo paid Moore's accusers $1K has now deleted years worth of tweets pic.twitter.com/1qg4zIj9BO
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 13, 2017
Here’s the tweet that started it all:
This is the entirety of the evidence for the garbage claim that Gateway Pundit wrote an article about. You know who writes dollar amounts as 1000$? Real Americans. pic.twitter.com/Si1STH1MUn
— Philip Bump (@pbump) November 10, 2017
Moore’s wife, Kayla, even promoted the rumor over on Facebook:
Meanwhile on Facebook, Moore's wife Kayla, president of his Christian non-profit, has been going from group to group posting the clearly fake allegation WaPo offered women 1000$ to come forward.
— andrew kaczynski? (@KFILE) November 13, 2017
The mass deletion and subsequent entire removal of the account occurred after multiple inconsistencies were discovered with @Umpire43’s past tweets, especially those involving his alleged military service:
Hi @umpire43. Senior editor for Task & Purpose, the news and culture site for vets, here. Can you clarify some questions about your military service and awards? https://t.co/VjvyLUGbEb
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) November 10, 2017
Such as his 2, 3 or 4 Purple Hearts:
The dude attacking my newspaper over the Moore story can't remember how many purple hearts he supposedly has. pic.twitter.com/4iW4FqQR4U
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 10, 2017
The account claimed the multiple Purple Hearts were for his brothers, who allegedly died while in Vietnam. But one of the brothers who had reportedly died also lost both legs and still stood for the national anthem:
Is there a Twitter equivalent of stolen valor?
Over #VeteransDay weekend nonetheless. @umpire43 pic.twitter.com/QvOhtrrDMs
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) November 11, 2017
Ah it turns out there’s a credible explanation: the extra Purple Hearts belonged to his brother Richard, KIA in Vietnam but since reanimated to stand for the anthem. pic.twitter.com/OksxMflhCo
— Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) November 11, 2017
The account also claimed he was a Navy SEAL who served on aircraft carriers, but that story fell apart, too:
He says he was on the Kitty Hawk and Nimitz. CVN -68 Wasnt launched until 1975. Before that it was a CVAN. no sailor would mess up their hull numbers or classifications. Also the Kitty Hawk was in dry dock in Washington state from 69-72 for retro upgrades pic.twitter.com/KQ2DIw6ATy
— Mary (@vamp_vixxenx) November 11, 2017
Other inconsistencies:
Billie, FYI, @umpire43 is not legit. Fabricated background, including military service. Don't take my word, do your own research. I'm sure you agree that stealing the ID of a dead soldier is never ok. God Bless America. pic.twitter.com/xUycWchTHj
— Jeff Stanlis (@jstanlis) November 13, 2017
And his West Point son became a Navy SEAL:
Now, look back at that tweet about his kids, and see if you can pick out the one who would have been 28 years old and a Navy Seal a month earlier. By the way, his 4 YOUNGEST were at West Point, and obviously that's Army, not Navy. pic.twitter.com/cFgzmLjKEP
— James (@15c3PO) November 14, 2017
Game over and good riddance.
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