For one shining moment, the US Embassy in Moscow was the best troll on Twitter
US Ambassador in Moscow John Tefft on the moon is just one of the memes the embassy tweeted after Russian media apparently photoshopped him into an opposition rally.
KYIV, Ukraine — It's not new for Kremlin-friendly media to pick on the United States about oppressive policies or pushing regime change abroad.
But when a Russian TV station falsely reported that US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft attended an opposition rally in Moscow over the weekend — using a fake image as evidence — the US Embassy decided to have some fun with it.
According to the embassy, Tefft was nowhere near the rally on Sunday, which was led by outspoken anti-Kremlin activist Alexei Navalny. And the original photo? It was taken last February near the site where famous opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was gunned down.
“Ambassador Tefft spent the day off at home,” the embassy said in a tweet. “But thanks to Photoshop [he] can end up wherever.”
Like the moon, for instance, or a hockey game, as they clearly demonstrated. (The original image is on the top-left.)
Or even accompanying US Gen. Douglas MacArthur on his return to the Philippines in October 1944.
The network in question, REN TV, has admitted its mistake, claiming several other Russian outlets also fell for the photo. They said they were unable to get an official response from the embassy in time for broadcast.
Either way, no harm, no foul. At least that’s how Twitter sees it.
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