Idaho Governor Forced to Twitter

An imposter twitterer, tweeting as Idaho Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter, was caught after five weeks of impersonating the governor. State officials caught the perpetrator, IT specialist Shane Carlson, who dismissed the impersonation as "satire." The Twitter account used by Carlson, @butchotter, was reopened and established as the "real" Twitter feed of the Idaho governor.

TMCNews reported that Idaho state officials initially targeted the wrong man, 30-year-old Wyatt Warner, as the faux-twitterer. Warner admitted to checking social networking sites at work, but denied allegations of posing as the governor. He eventually directed officials to Carlson, who acknowledged creating the account and sending the fake tweets.

Carlson's profile picture of the governor was a silhouette of an AK-47 with the caption: "This is my voting machine." After officials reopened the real account, the image was replaced with a picture of Otter and his wife. According to the Associated Press, one of the first messages sent by Otter was information about how the state was dealing with swine flu. One member of the Twitter community remarked, "I liked the other @butchotter better. . . . Had a better sense of humor."

It seems most people don't think the satirical portrayal of Otter was a big deal, citing shows like Saturday Night Live that parody public officials weekly. Carlson, a resident of southern Idaho, is a Republican who said he felt "compelled to engage in political commentary."