News broke late at night on Tuesday, March 30, that Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is under investigation by the Department of Justice for possible sex or human trafficking after allegedly paying and transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes.
Gaetz immediately began trending on Twitter, where one person, in particular, knew the news would bring a very, very bad day.
That person was Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters who, despite having a very similar name, has spent a large portion of his professional career speaking out against the sort of conservative propaganda Gaetz has become well-known for.
As soon as Matt Gaetz began trending, Matt Gertz's life became much harder.
Gertz responded to hundreds of people informing them they had tagged the wrong Matt in their posts.
Twitter offered Gertz their heartfelt condolences.
Gertz himself stayed in touch with what his strange experience was like.
It's hard to be famous, but it's even harder to be infamous for no reason except your name.
Matt Gertz has taught us all a lesson.
Never let your outrage and zeal blind you to typos in your tweets.
@RepScottPerry/X
clerk.house.gov
@@RepSwalwell/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
@RepScottPerry/X
