We Have No Idea Who We’re Dealing With Online
The internet is filled with information — which is amazing. And just like anybody can open a social media account, top professionals in different industries can, too. That’s why you need to be careful what you say and to whom, lest it come back to haunt you.
Sometimes, you don’t even need to wait for the future before regretting what you tweeted. Some repercussions happen quickly. That’s because there are some folks you just shouldn’t mess with on the internet. Here are some moments where people had no idea who they were dealing with.
When in Doubt, Ask Dad
It must really be a cool feeling to be related to a star athlete. And being a first-hand source to debunk rumors and gossip that make the rounds on Twitter must be one of those cool perks. It’s probably even better to be the dad of a superstar.
Take a look at Enrique Rodriguez’s savage reply to the guy who was circulating rumors that Jay might be retiring. “I’m his dad.” Those three words have a lot of power. It’s almost excruciating to read. Quite frankly, sources don’t come much more credible than that.
You Don’t Get More Educated Than This
We’ve all met that guy who just pops out of nowhere and dishes out his “opinion” when no one asked for it. This woman felt it was important for her Twitter followers to know how concerned she was about climate change. One guy, however, didn’t really appreciate her thoughts.
So, he chose to offer his unwarranted opinion on the subject. Unfortunately, this backfired, and he learned his lesson the hard way. It seems a little ridiculous to tell someone with a Ph.D. in astrophysics that they need to educate themselves a little more on science.
The Biggest Star Wars Fan
Most Star Wars fans know everything about the film series. Maybe not everything though. This person was trying to prove that he was a die-hard Star Wars fan when he failed to recognize that the woman he had labeled as a “stupid hipster chick” was the actress Natalie Portman.
As in THE Natalie Portman, the one who has appeared in several of the franchise’s films. It’s remarkable how quickly he was able to obliterate his reputation as a genuine Star Wars fan without any external help. He’ll no doubt be taking note of the actors’ names in subsequent series.
The Head of Anti-Terrorism
OK, we’re not saying we know much about terrorism, but we would expect that Northern Ireland’s former head of an anti-terrorist intelligence unit and special branch in Belfast would surely know a thing or two about the topic. Right? Apparently not to this guy.
From what we can see in this interaction above, this Twitter user clearly feels that’s not enough qualification to speak about terrorism. We’re stumped. Can anyone please tell us what other credentials would be enough? We think he was too embarrassed and was just blabbing.
He’s Literally THAT Guy
If you’ve ever applied for a job online and gotten a rejection email, then you have an idea how bad it feels, especially if you really wanted it. This guy’s triumph must have been bittersweet after receiving this email from a recruiter. Basically, the recruiter turned him down.
That’s fairly common in the job-search sector, but what made this case interesting was that the recruiter suggested he read a writeup done by the candidate himself! After reading the candidate’s response, we’re sure this recruiter feels pretty dumb. Honestly, some of them need to do better.
The Moment She’s Been Waiting For
It’s not as if a slew of Golden Globe Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Academy Awards, Brit Awards, and Grammy Awards were enough. Finally, there came a talent scout who saw Annie Lennox’s potential and offered her the chance to make it huge. No, we’re not even joking right.
Lennox appeared to have finally had her opportunity — a chance to show this talent scout that she should maybe do some background checks on the artists she was trying to sign. Imagine being a talent scout but doing zero research into the artists you’re “scouting.”
Open Your Eyes, Sir
We sometimes need to reference reputable papers to show someone why they need to reassess their ideas and analysis. That’s fine. We’ve all probably done that before. But this person should have double-checked the author of the publication he was referencing as evidence.
He not only showed that he had no clue what he was talking about, but he also made a complete fool of himself in front of the author of a paper that he admired so much. As far as embarrassing oneself goes, this one must rank high.
Hidden in Plain Sight
Taking a picture with a celebrity is cool. Some people even have their pictures on the walls of their homes. But you know what’s much cooler? Taking a picture with the celebrity themselves. Imagine running into a celebrity comedian like Lewis Black and getting a photo with them.
Must be nice. Unfortunately for these people, they were too busy posing with this Lewis Black poster to notice that the comedian himself was just a few yards away. They’re even facing him, and his head is turned toward them. All we want to do is turn their heads.
Schooling Your ‘Son’ the Right Way
When told he was joining the bandwagon following his team’s success, this Dallas Cowboys defensive end had quite the answer. When someone begins their sentence with the word “son,” you know you’re in big trouble. It almost feels the same way as “with all due respect.”
You just know you’re in for some disrespect. And yet, this was some respectful disrespect. Anyway, we kind of agree with this guy because this person truly needs to stand in the corner so they can have some genuine self-reflection on what they called this football player.
She Gets Paid by Marvel
It’s amusing how quick people are to see if someone is a true fan or not, rather than just being happy to have met another nerd. We guess it comes from people’s intense desires to gatekeep certain things. This person should have thought it through.
When this guy tried to quiz this girl on her knowledge of comics, he quickly learned that he had made a huge mistake. Dude, this chick you’re trying to troll gets paid by Marvel! We don’t know what else to say if that isn’t enough of a credential.
This Has to Be a Joke
While many entries on this list have been from people who were serious, we sincerely hope that Neil Patrick Harris was joking here. But if he was serious, then we suspect that the next time these two are in the same room, things will get a little awkward.
Rachel Bloom not only reminded Harris that they had met several times, but that her husband had worked on Harris’ sitcom for five years! We can only imagine Neil’s embarrassment because of all of this. This was a bad goof, and he must have reached out afterward.
A Good Idea for the Wrong Person
It’s usually a good idea to read news from a variety of sources, ranging from conservative to liberal. However, advising a guy who is the editor of an online conservative editorial journal like National Review to read conservative news sources is not a good idea.
We don’t think he needs this person to inform him that he needs to start reading conservative news sites since it would be strange if he didn’t already. Not only does he read conservative news sources, but he’s also on the payroll of arguably the biggest of them all.
Taking it Like a Champ
Many professions receive heavy criticism. But you’ll probably agree that acting is near the top of the list. There’s always a way to deal with negative criticism, and one person handled it admirably when someone on Twitter said his horror film was “boring” and “not scary.”
It’s nice to see that some people can still see the positive side of things, as is evident by the fact that this man took the time to view his film in the first place. At least he saw a positive side to the criticism. Not everyone can do that. Respect!
Olympian, But Also Part-Time Photographer
We’re thinking these two girls aren’t big sports fans because they’d rather have Olympic gold champion Katie Ledecky take their picture than be in it. Imagine walking down the street and meeting an Olympian, but instead of taking a picture with them, you ask them to take a picture OF YOU.
We get the feeling it would have been a relief for Ledecky, who is undoubtedly used to being photographed, to be handed the camera instead of being forced to smile and pose. We’re hoping she’s as talented when it comes to photography as she is at swimming.
Who’s Telling the Truth?
One of these guys is lying, but they both claim to have been there, so we’re wondering who’s lying over here. We’d have to assume the story is about the guy, but perhaps he’s merely trying to hide how humiliating it must have been for him to be booed off the stage.
But to be honest, we weren’t there, therefore we can’t tell you what truly happened. If you’re reading this, and you were there, could you put this argument to bed, save us the trouble and tell us the backstory? It would be appreciated!
No One Knows You
Oof…we kind of feel bad for Mike Joyce on this one. For starters, he wasn’t recognized as the drummer for The Smiths, a well-known rock band. Then he heard through a fellow audience member at a show that the guitarist from his band was on stage.
This one must have hurt, but it would’ve been bearable if the story had ended here. But it didn’t. Things went from bad to worse when they recognized the music they were listening to was Joyce’s band, but they still didn’t know who Joyce was. That had to be excruciating!
Don’t Question the Master
We understand that people on the internet don’t take things at face value and question where other social media users get their information. But a lot of embarrassing situations could be avoided if people took the time out to double-check who they’re questioning and the facts they’re questioning.
Not only was this person highly qualified to give his judgment, but he also made the other guy look like a complete moron for even questioning him. We’ll leave you to judge whether he was an idiot, but people need to do some fact-checking before trying to dismiss others.
Not Your Regular ‘Blogger’
We’re not going to pretend like this guy isn’t right about people getting questionable information from blogs. But like many others on our list, maybe he should take time to look into who some of these bloggers are. We’re sure it’ll help a great deal.
He might be interested to learn that there are a lot of very qualified people operating blogs out there, and some of them may know a lot more than he does. For example, we’re pretty sure the political editor of Channel 4 News isn’t just any “blogger.”
Trying to Teach the Professor
Imagine being so knowledgeable about a topic that you want to punch it in the face. And then there’s someone who’s trying to educate you. This dude had no idea who he was dealing with when he made this comment. But the woman sure let him know.
In fact, while this guy goes to grab some ice to put on the burn, her response deserves a slow clap. Being patronized hurts, but it feels great to respond with vengeance. Imagine telling a professor of computer science who has taught classes to go learn Java. OK, dude.
Calling Out the Writer
Paul Cornell may not have binge-watched all 12 seasons of Dr. Who, but he has written them all. We understand that viewers of the TV show may not be aware of the writer’s identity, but a true fan would certainly know who he was.
Well, this guy tried to establish himself as a “Dr. Who” expert. And what did he do? Called out the guy who wrote the story (books and TV) he’s a “fan” of. All he accomplished here was to make a fool of himself. Good job, dude.
Good Luck With That, Dude
People use analogies all the time to drive home their point. But all this guy did was drive away from home. We admit that it’s pretty cool that this guy tried using a chess analogy on his perspective about what was going on politically.
Unfortunately, it was so bad that the International Chess Federation had to point out how his entire analogy made zero sense. And it was even funnier that he tried to correct them. Yes, you read that right: He tried to explain how chess works to chess’ governing body. Yikes.
Somebody’s Trying to Save Jesus
We feel sorry for the person who felt he was offering a nice gesture by notifying the police about a homeless person sleeping on a park bench. We can only assume he was trying to get them to a safe location where they could be cared for and sheltered.
What they didn’t realize was that the person they were attempting to save was none other than the Savior himself — Jesus Christ. It looks like the sculptor did a great job. But anyone could’ve figured that’s not a real human. Well, at least they’ve got a good heart.
Starting Drama Where There Isn’t Any
Many people on the internet are just looking for a fight. Sometimes, you get the feeling that some people don’t have real-life problems and are just looking for a problem where there isn’t one.
One of those people is this lady, who called out another woman for only uploading pictures of women with “light skin.” Maybe she should sit down next time and take a closer look. She might have noticed it was all the same woman if she had.
She Wrote the Books
When it comes to Harry Potter, discussions on the internet can get intense and escalate quickly. It’s difficult to keep up with all the beliefs that abound. We always get the feeling everyone wants to share their opinions when it comes to the Wizarding World.
Even the author of Harry Potter can’t keep up with her fans. This guy decided to tell J.K. Rowling what he thought Snape’s real intentions were. Yes, he just tried to educate the person who wrote seven Harry Potter books on what she was thinking when she wrote Snape’s story.
The Iconic Skateboarder’s Doppelganger
Imagine you’re Tony Hawk but you only look like Tony Hawk from the side. We’re not sure what this guy thought Tony Hawk looked like from the front because he couldn’t recognize the legendary skateboarder when he was staring right into his face.
Considering how viral the tweet went, we get the feeling that he probably came online after work to see the post. And we’re sure he’ll be kicking himself for being so naive to the fact that he had a legend right in front of him.
She Owns the Work…and You, Too
Plagiarism is one of the worst things you can do to an artist, but it is also an extremely serious accusation. When this user tried to accuse an artist of stealing artwork, she showed them who was the boss and put them in their place.
The user probably felt they’d caught her red-handed when they replied with “looks oddly familiar,” only for her to point out that she was the one who made it. At the very least, they had the grace to own their error and answer her with an embarrassing “oh…”
Another Reason Why You Should Double-Check
We find it really interesting how eager people are to share their opinion without first considering with whom they are sharing it. You’d think that before stating anything about a business to someone, you’d check to see if they had any connection to the company.
That, however, does not appear to be a common procedure among many internet users, and many of them find themselves digging a hole deeper than they could have thought. We hope that these people learn from their mistakes. We cannot stress how important double-checking is, especially on social media.
So, How About You?
It’s irritating when people offer their opinions on topics about which they clearly have no knowledge. We see this happen often on social media. This person appears to have given their perspective on a subject about which they were well-versed.
The problem is that it was not one that the other guy liked. This apparently allowed him the liberty to voice his confusion at the “absolute dimness of people.” We are genuinely baffled at this guy’s lack of respect. But thankfully, this person schooled him.
Give Credit Where It’s Due
Don’t you just love it when people try to educate others using sources that the people they’re trying to educate have written? We’ve seen it countless times on this list and here’s another example. This one just feels more embarrassing than the others.
This Twitter user made a complete fool of himself by trying to give this journalist some sources to read up on. He must have thought he had done something only to find out that those sources cite the journalist’s work. We know whose social media posts we’ll trust then.
The Man, the Myth, the Unknown Legend
Tony Hawk has had quite the experience. It is safe to say that this TSA agent did not expect to be verifying Tony Hawk’s ID when he arrived to work that day. But there he was, staring at an ID that happened to resemble the skateboarder with the same name.
At least one guy recognized Tony Hawk and was interested in what was going on in his life. But we don’t know who is better — the guy who only knows Hawk from the side, or this dude who saw his name and face but still couldn’t recognize him.
When Opportunity Came Knocking
Everyone hopes to get a big opportunity, but sometimes there’s doubt. Not many people really expect to be scouted, especially not by a talent scout working for Marvel. In their defense, we would have disregarded this guy just as quickly if we didn’t know who he was.
Unfortunately for them, they lost out on having their work appraised by one of the best. This might have been the big break they’d been looking for. We don’t know what eventually happened, but they’d regret it for the rest of their lives if they found this tweet.
So What if You’re the Prime Minister?
At this rate, we wonder if some of these guys are trolling or on something we’ve never heard before. We’re quite sure that being Prime Minister of Malta gives you access to information that the rest of us don’t have, but evidently, this guy doesn’t think so.
He questioned the PM’s sources. He likely had no idea who this person was. We’ll ignore how easy it is to check the profile but suggest using Google from time to time, especially for someone who is this concerned about backing up information.
There’s Only One King
You know how people purposefully have different opinions from the public? It’s OK to not “follow the crowd” but they do this, so it doesn’t appear like they are into the same person as everyone else. This person wanted to do the same to Stephen King.
We get the feeling they don’t want to like the same author everyone likes only to just embarrass themselves. Richard Bachman is King’s pen name, pal. Stephen King is famous for many reasons, but particularly because he is a fantastic author with amazing stories. So, it’s time to join the bandwagon.
Oops…Didn’t Go as Planned
Imagine having your point of view refuted by someone who cites your own article as evidence. That must be a humiliating moment for one of those people. They were defensive in their argument, debunking what this woman had stated, only to be reminded of something important.
Not only had she read the entire piece, but she had read it because she wrote it. You know when people wish the ground opened and swallowed them? This person must have felt exactly that. We’re sure they probably thought about deactivating their account, too.
Who Had the Best 2015?
It seems like 2015 was a busy year for everybody. But no one believes each other’s accomplishments were still good enough. This interaction on Twitter clearly shows that. It is not uncommon for artists to face criticism on social media. But they have fans who defend them — stans.
When this woman criticized Iggy Azalea for not having any accomplishments that year, someone answered by stating that the artist’s singles had all been certified gold or higher that year. They then managed to squeeze in the question “What did you do again?” This woman’s response was epic.
Farming Is All He Knows
Think about these scenarios: Imagine someone asks a doctor if he knows anything about medicine when he’s trying to give you medical advice or prescribe a pill, or better yet, questioning an accountant’s financial knowledge when he tries to give an opinion on finance. Crazy, right?
That’s what we thought, too. But that’s exactly what this social media user did. While trying to inform everyone about what was going on in this image, he asked a farmer whether he knew anything about farming. As you will expect, the farmer’s reply was spectacular.
What Does She Know?
It’s too bad these Twitter users had no idea the person they were debating with over what caused Rome’s fall was a professor of classics at Cambridge University. That’s right — a professor at one of the largest and most prestigious academic institutions. But that’s not the only thing that qualifies her.
Not only is she a professor at such a great school and in that subject, but she also wrote a book about it. But this user was probably too embarrassed to admit they were wrong and claimed the woman just wanted them to buy the book.
Can’t Get Any Closer to the Source
Now this one cracked us up a bit. This user asked a certain Mark Adler for a reference to a post he made not knowing Mark is, in fact, the reference. That is, any reference he makes from a Wikipedia page will cite his name as the source of the information.
We don’t know about you, but we think if this guy is a good enough reference for a platform like Wikipedia, then he certainly is a good enough reference for this random person on the world wide web. Wikipedia is practically everyone’s go-to source anyway.
The CEO Would Surely Know
The internet is full of smarty-pants who always want to pitch in with their “knowledge.” And if there’s one thing we’re happy about, it’s that many of them are put in their places by people who are obviously more knowledgeable. This is an excellent example of one of the know-it-alls.
This user chimed in with their (lack of) expertise to give an absolutely erroneous comment. They had no idea they were tweeting at the actual CEO of Soft Space. We’re not saying that every CEO is right, but we’re pretty sure they know what their company’s name is.
Try to Level Up First
If you want to debate with an Emmy Award-winner on a subject they won the prestigious award for, we think the least you can do is to get on their level first. Otherwise, we recommend remaining silent and refraining from condemning individuals who are more knowledgeable of being politically ignorant.
At the very least, Nick Tuths was able to answer in a way that put this guy in his place after he was dismissive of all of Tuths’ accomplishments and qualifications in this field. And the best thing was that Tuths was also polite about it. Top guy!
The Complete Celebrity Confusion
The only thing funnier than people failing to recognize celebrities is when they are mistaken for other celebrities. And it appears to happen quite frequently. For those who haven’t seen the CW superhero series Arrow, Stephen Amell plays the main character (Green Arrow).
It’s obvious that this fan has seen the show, but they’ve made the mistake of confusing Amell with Chris O’Donnell. We’re not sure the resemblance is that uncanny, so we don’t really see the connection. But this certainly made an amusing encounter with a fan for Amell.
I Am Jo Sharp!
We hope Jo Sharp didn’t have an identity crisis because of this. Imagine getting criticized for not knowing yourself in a paper about your own work. We wish she had responded to this feedback. We’re ready to bet that anyone would be embarrassed to discover what they just did.
Apparently, they didn’t even pay enough attention to observe the author’s paper they were reviewing. Hopefully, they immediately reversed their decision and gave Jo an A+. We once again question the qualifications of those who review applications and papers because some of them don’t seem good at their jobs.
Random Internet User Educates the Dog Behaviorist About Dogs
No way we’re going to trust someone whose reference is a subreddit over a dog behaviorist. In this case, we’d go with the dog behaviorist. People who study dogs and work with them daily all agree on one point: no breed is innately more dangerous than another.
It all boils down to proper socialization, training, and recognizing your dog’s instincts. If you choose a working dog breed that has been bred to guard their area and is thus inherently suspicious of strangers, don’t be shocked if the dog isn’t a harmless cuddling buddy to your visitors.
Immune to Logic but Not Immune to a Pandemic
We understand that the pandemic has “cooled” in a way and lockdown regulations are relaxed in many places. Still, the coolest thing you can do is wear a face mask, and the worst thing you can do is pretend you know better than the medical staff.
Some even go as far as saying wearing a mask is “ignorance.” That’s not cool at all. The only homework this individual should be doing is learning about the advantages of wearing a mask. They should avoid debating with pandemic planners.
Telling an Olympian to Go Pro
This one is hilarious. One thing internet users know how to do best is dish unsolicited advice. This interaction may not make sense to anyone unfamiliar with Lizzie Simmonds, a talented British swimmer who is so brilliant that she has represented the UK in international tournaments.
One of these tournaments is the Olympics. Besides the World Championships, it doesn’t get bigger than that. The lady in the public lane meant well, but we feel she’d be a little embarrassed to learn that the woman whose swimming she praised was competing in the Olympics as an athlete!
A Matilda Fan Who Didn’t Know Matilda
We’re getting tired of “fans” who know next to nothing about the people they claim to support. You’ll agree with us that it’s a little strange to claim you’re a Matilda fan, but you don’t recognize the actress who played Matilda in the film. So much for a fan.
Perhaps this female was compelled to wear the name tag by her supervisor, and she dislikes the movie. In any case, we feel sorry for Mara Wilson, who willingly approached a potential fan (every fan’s dream!) and was awkwardly rejected. This fan will be embarrassed when she learns what happened.
It’s Literally in Her Name
Ever been in an elevator with complete strangers? We agree it can be a little awkward. As if being in an elevator with strangers wasn’t awkward enough, imagine having this odd little chat with someone who simply refuses to accept you’re the professor of the lab that’s named after you.
We’re wondering why this man was unaware he was chatting with a professor. After all, they shared an elevator that was obviously headed to the lab in question. Oh well, at least he knows who she is now! He’ll surely be red with embarrassment.
Do You Know What You’re Talking About?
We can’t even be upset at the green guy for questioning the orange guy’s reasoning here. What are the chances that you’ll come across someone who is knowledgeable in industrial laser rust removal? We’d never heard of such a thing, let alone of somebody with first-hand experience in the industry.
But, in that regard, the internet is truly a wonderful place. You can find all kinds of professional knowledge and guidance for free (as long as you listen and don’t just mouth back). What a time to be alive. As for this guy, he probably learned a valuable lesson.
Thanks for the Input, My Bro
Someone with a Ph.D. is not always smarter than someone without one. And they can be arrogant. This hilarious tweet proved both arguments to be correct. It’s fascinating that Dr. Shen Harris assumed Emily had authored an article regarding the absence of women in certain fields.
The fields in question are science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This is despite her lack of experience in those fields. But Emily had the perfect, quick response to this intellectual “bro,” and we can only laud her (and boo him). What a way to put him in his place!
That’s Already a Fair Deal
Many people would tell a little white lie to get a bigger discount, which is understandable when dealing with a nasty employee or unreasonably pricey things. But $5 an hour at the arcade seems like a good deal to us, especially since the owner hasn’t increased the price in years.
Trying to con a diligent company owner for $2 is simply dishonest. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and will pay up quietly the next time. Or he’ll just be like some of the other guys on this list who were too proud to admit they’re wrong.
Mark Wahlberg — What a Guy
This is pretty understandable. Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Ben Affleck all seem to flow together. They’re all cool Boston locals from the same acting generation. Not to mention that Matt and Mark were both in The Departed and Patriots Day, and Ben has also worked with Matt.
So, the lady yelling “Matt Damon!” at Mark isn’t a big deal, and he probably didn’t think twice about it. Rather than embarrass her, he remained classy and respectfully posed for a photo. He even had a big smile on his face to top it off. What a gentleman.
We Don’t Know About That, Man
We genuinely want to know what happened here. Did the guy yell “Omg Marilyn Manson!” and this goth chose to go with it? In that case, he’s a funny man. But if you’ve seen Marilyn Manson at least once, then you’d know this guy isn’t a convincing lookalike.
He even made it his DP. Perhaps it was all the result of a drunken night at the bar, and neither guy had any idea what was going on. After all, with a little booze, anyone can look like Manson under dim bar lighting.
Not a Pirate of the Caribbean
This is awkward, and we can all learn from this girl’s error. Don’t share your celebrity encounter on Facebook until you’re certain the person you met is the star. And, before you do it, show the photo to several people and compare it to other photos on the internet.
That’s a piece of advice that’ll serve you well. As long as we’re all talking about the same Johnny Depp, then this guy looks absolutely nothing like him. But we’re sure he had a great time fooling the girl that he was who she thought he was.
Another Tony Hawk Drama
Tony Hawk again. No celebrity seems to be more tormented by people not knowing who he is. Or coming close to realizing. In this situation, the person in question did not come as near as in other cases, and instead asked, “Anyone ever tell you that you look like Tom Brady?”
Really, dude? Instead, he felt this guy was well-known and then surprised Tony by claiming he resembled Tom Brady. Given that the American football quarterback is nearly a decade Tony’s junior, we’d take it as a compliment. Well, at least he figured he looked like someone popular.
Not Your Regular YouTuber
Gabbie Hanna is quite the controversial YouTuber who has been involved in lots of drama in the past few years. However, her response is still both epic and valid. She studied psychology for four years, and even though she is not a professional psychologist, she is not uninformed in that field.
Four years of studying a major remains relevant regardless of what they do. So filming psychology-related videos isn’t her rambling on about things she found on Google; instead, she’s talking about something she’s passionate about and can offer some insight into. And something she went to school for.