New Jersey’s official Twitter account mixed it up with New York City government’s sassiest Twitter account Friday after the Garden State’s feed tweeted “your mom” to a random social media user.
The dust up began when the Jersey account quote-tweeted @ayeeitsgary — a minor Twitter feed with just 57 followers — when it asked, “Who let New Jersey have a Twitter”?
The brains behind @NJgov opted for a favorite playground barb and fired back.
“Your mom,” they wrote.
Then, the New York City Conflict of Interest Board’s social media team jumped into the fight and tweeted “an ethics lesson: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
New Jersey and the COIB have made names for themselves by combining quips and brash personas to draw followers on Twitter’s free-wielding social media platform.
“We really wanted to be more engaging, more human,” said Pearl Gabel, who runs New Jersey’s social media accounts for Gov. Phil Murphy.
The tabloid newspaper veteran told The Bergen Record: “I don’t want to be like another state. I really wanted to find the essence of Jersey.”
Murphy’s administration launched @NJGov in April 2018.
Since then, it’s picked up more than 31,000 followers as it makes butt jokes, posted pictures of drag queens and feuded with Delaware’s much older official state Twitter account.
“everyone hiring wesleyan grads to run their social media accounts, NJ’s like nah, Dana’s nephew Mikey will do just fine,” tweeted one fan.
New Jersey’s official response? “tru,” poking fun at the state’s reputation for rampant nepotism.
Along the way, it’s encouraged Jerseyites to sign up for healthcare, posted the notice that flags would fly at half-staff and passed along winter weather warnings.
“People need to follow official New Jersey state twitter right now before the FBI steps in,” added Jim Edwards.
It’s a page from a playbook written in part by the COIB, which has used similar tactics for years to try to spread the word about the ethics rules for New York’s city employees.
As Halloween approached, the agency changed its display name repeatedly as part of a holiday gag.
@NYCCOIB went by “Halloween is the bribery holiday” and “refusing halloween candy for ethics reasons.”