Watch: Duo poses as laid-off Twitter employees and trick media after Elon Musk takeover
Pranked effectively!
Lib reporters outside Twitter HQ get absolutely TROLLED by SAVAGE actors pretending to be fired software engineers
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 28, 2022
The looks on their faces when he says his name is PRICELESS
"Rahul Ligma" pic.twitter.com/l4IIxBdrdw
Software engineer and his buddy got fired from @Twitter #ELONMUSK #Twitter #twitterhq #fired #TwitterTakeover #elonmusktwitter #twitter pic.twitter.com/RkDGXm3nAH
— Rezowan Siddique Reza (@Rezowan_) October 28, 2022
Pranksters fooled members of several media outlets into thinking they’d been laid off by tech billionaire Elon Musk soon after his Twitter takeover.
News regarding mass layoffs started making rounds after Musk took charge as the new owner of Twitter Inc on Thursday, 27 October.
In an attempt to hog the limelight, the pair was spotted carrying boxes, outside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters. Several outlets reported layoffs were underway after the duo spoke to the media.
It’s happening
— Deirdre Bosa (@dee_bosa) October 28, 2022
Entire team of data engineers let go. These are two of them#TwitterTakeover pic.twitter.com/gNSl6qSCKU
However, speculations started emerging on the internet after one of the pranksters said his name was “Rahul Ligma” — a reference to a popular internet meme. He also held a copy of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s book “Becoming”. The other said his name was “Daniel Johnson.”
As the word about a potential hoax intensified, several of the news outlets acknowledged that they were unable to confirm whether layoffs were actually underway.
Ligma Johnson had it coming 🍆 💦 pic.twitter.com/CgjrOV5eM2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
After The Verge confirmed that the whole episode was a prank, Musk too responded on Twitter. “Ligma Johnson had it coming,” he joked, posting a picture of the duo.