Edward Snowden fans misdirecting their support to Toronto woman
Sarah Snowdon getting messages meant for famous whistleblower
Sarah Snowdon has had hundreds of strangers thank her online over the last few days. Every time she refreshes Twitter, she says, she has at least five new mentions, mostly people praising her courage and conviction.
Those strangers might want to double- check their spelling though, because they’re actually trying to thank renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden.
When Snowden joined Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, he was quickly greeted by a million followers and global media coverage. He also chose the simple handle of @snowden.
Sarah Snowdon had a similar idea when she joined Twitter in 2008, taking the handle @snowdon.
That choice has led to a lot of mixups: People think they’re tweeting to Edward Snowden, but they’re reaching the 34-year-old wine- and mystery-loving PR manager from Toronto instead.
“They’re saying, ‘ I’m so glad @snowdon is on Twitter. He’s my hero.’ Some people are confused,” Sarah Snowdon said. Though Edward Snowden has had a small but steady stream of negative tweets directed at him, the tweets at Sarah Snowdon have been mostly positive, she said.
For now, she’s watching it all happen and isn’t correcting anybody.
“I haven’t responded. I think I retweeted one guy’s tweet because it was really funny,” she said.
It’s not the first time her Twitter handle has been the source of confusion, either.
She’s been occasionally confused for Snowden before, but before Tuesday she was more often mistak-
“I haven’t responded. I think I retweeted one guy’s tweet because it was really funny.” SARAH SNOWDON
en for Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.
Snowdon — the person — regularly gets tagged in pictures of hikers who have made the ascent up the British landmark.
“They’re always tweeting at me, either because they think I’m Edward Snowden, or they think I’m Mt. Snowdon . . . I’m used to it now,” she said.
The extra attention hasn’t been annoying, she said, though she does hope the surge of tweets dies down after a few days.
“I think it’s hilarious. I really respect Edward Snowden, so I think it’s great . . . I’m glad he’s on Twitter.”
Edward Snowden considered joining Twitter on Sept. 25, in an interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
During the interview, Tyson suggested Snowden should join the social network.
“I tried to find you on Twitter. What’s your handle?” Tyson asked.
“I don’t actually have one yet,” he responded. “You need a Twitter handle. @snowden maybe?” Tyson suggested.