Brexit Party accidentally promotes Wetherspoon boss parody account that says pub chain ‘caters to bitter old alcoholics’

The Brexit Party’s success in this year’s European elections was credited partly to its influence on Twitter and Facebook, but it seems its mastery of social media still leaves something to be desired.

In a tweet to advertise an upcoming event featuring Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin as a speaker, Nigel Farage’s party inadvertently promoted a parody account poking fun at the pub chain founder.

If the account’s name, @GroovyTimbo, wasn’t warning enough of the mistake, the accompanying Twitter bio should have been the giveaway.

“I'm Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, a luxury business catering to bitter old alcoholics in the mornings and p***ed-up students in the evenings,” it reads.

The Brexit Party’s tweet, encouraging followers to “come see @GroovyTimbo speak at our London rally this Friday,” was swiftly deleted after Twitter users jumped on the error.

“A beyond parody account links to an actual parody account,” mocked one.

“Good to see the BP has the finger on the pulse when it comes to their cheerleaders,” wrote another.

The real Tim Martin, an ardent champion of Brexit, is himself no fan of social media. Last year he shut down his company's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and said Wetherspoon was "going against conventional wisdom that these platforms are a vital component of a successful business".

"It’s becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion," he added.

The author of the parody Tim Martin perhaps came to the same conclusion: the account has been dormant for more than 18 months.

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