Rupert Murdoch's First 24 Hours on Twitter: What We Have Learned
UPDATED: The account for News Corp. chairman's wife has been exposed as a fake, with the impersonator confessing: "I'm not Wendi."
Rupert Murdoch rung in the New Year with a verified Twitter account, and has been enthusiastically tweeting ever since. While he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of capitalization, @ replying or hashtags, he has been sharing his thoughts on everything from politics to New Year’s Resolutions.
Meanwhile, a person using the name of Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, was revealed to be an impersonator; on Tuesday, tweets from the account Wendi_Deng said that the user was not really the mogul’s wife.
“Hello Twitter. As News International has finally come to their senses, it's time to confirm that yes, this is a fake account. I'm not Wendi,” a Twitter message from the account said Tuesday.
Spokespeople for News Corp. in New York and its News International unit in London said though that the Rupert Murdoch Twitter account was not a fake. Asked how the Wendi Deng account could have been verified, a News Corp. spokeswoman confirmed it was a fake, but said that its verification was a question for Twitter.
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"We don't comment on the verification process, but can confirm that the @wendi_deng account was mistakenly verified for a short time," a Twitter spokeswoman said. "We apologize for any confusion this caused."
Murdoch currently follows five Twitter accounts, including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, but not his wife's imposter.
So what’s on the mind of business mogul? Recent Fox releases, for one.
Murdoch tweeted on Sunday: “I LOVE the film "we bought a zoo", a great family movie. Very proud of fox team who made this great film.”
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The 2011 box office attendance may have hit a 16 year low, but Murdoch is happy that one of his films is actually good. And he threw in an Oscar plug for good measure: “Saw Fox film Descendants. Thank God, one to be proud of. Star Geo Clooney deserves Oscar, maybe film too.”
Moving on to U.S. politics, Murdoch tweeted in support of President Obama’s signing the new Defense Bill, but urged the President to tackle the U.S.' biggest problem: education policy. “While Obama feeling courageous, why not follow his first class education policy. US' absolute biggest crisis. No read, no write, no jobs.”
Continuing on a political streak, Murdoch endorsed GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum. “Can't resist this tweet, but all Iowans think about Rick Santorum. Only candidate with genuine big vision for country.”
Like many, Murdoch is going into 2012 on a diet: “My resolutions, try to maintain humility and always curiosity. And of course diet!”
Meanwhile, the impersonator of wife Deng Murdoch had been using Twitter to socialize with celebrities. She tweeted in reply to actor Ricky Gervais: "i think you look HOT ricky!!! (sssh dont tell @rupertmurdoch!)" and replied to a tweet by Kim Kardashian about resolutions: "kim!!! agreed! rupert and i set a lot of goals for ourselves all through last yr!" Neither tweeted back.
After just two days, Murdoch has nearly 74,000 followers and promises to be one of Twitter’s most amusing celebrity tweeters. And to answer your burning question: he uses Twitter for iPad.
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