The Washington DC football team’s social media squad had a #headdesk moment over the weekend when it appeared to have false-started by tweeting from two accounts at once.
The error was caught by a reporter at The Washington Post, who noticed a tweet sent from the team’s official account and the supposedly unaffiliated @RedskinsFacts account at the same time. (@RedskinsFacts is dedicated to sticking up for the team’s nickname, which critics say is racist. The team contends it doesn’t put words in the group’s mouth).
The mix up was "a simple login error," according to a team statement obtained by the Post. "The Washington Redskins have never posted content to any of the Redskins Facts digital assets," it contended.
Last summer, Burson-Marsteller confirmed it was hired by the team for services including the "Redskins Facts" push, which the team says is an alumni-backed online community of passionate Washington Redskins fans and others who support the team’s use of its name and logo."
Some Twitter users weren’t convinced there is a separation of church and state between the team and the Redskins Facts site. Deadspin ran a post with the headline, "How stupid do the ‘Skins think we are?"
Worth pointing out, the Redskins and Redskins Facts tweets came via Tweetdeck, so that whole "login error" ... yeah.
— ryan van bibber (@justRVB) December 15, 2015
The jig is up! (not that anybody thought Redskins Facts was a fan account) https://t.co/3Ebx9HiwPo
— Curtis Harris (@curtismharris) December 13, 2015
A Burson representative could not be immediately reached for comment.