Culture

Here’s How One Houston Panadería Was Saved Because Of A Teenager’s Tweet

By December 15, 2017 at 3:15 pm
La Casa Bakery and Cafe / Facebook / @mannynation73 / Twitter

A Houston teenager didn’t want her dad to close his panadería, so she turned to Twitter for help.

Jacqueline “Jackie” Garza said she originally tweeted a plea for help to alert people in the area of her father’s business, She hoped it would compel friends, family, and co-workers to stop by for some of her dad’s delicious food. But the Internet had another idea.

She showed off all the food her father makes, because it is more than just a bakery for pan dulce.

“At first I didn’t think the interaction between the media and the business was going to correlate,” Garza said. “I was like, ‘Okay. Just because it got retweets doesn’t mean a lot of people are coming.’ I was expecting a small change.”

But then Garza’s tweet was flooded with support as people came together for the panadería.

Garza was not expecting the outpour of positivity from the Twitter community, but is so grateful for it.

The support was so overwhelming, in fact, that her father went to the store and stocked up so he could meet the demand.

“My dad was definitely not expecting such a drastic change as the one we got,” Garza said. “He didn’t know that Twitter existed before the tweet went viral but so far he’s handled it very well.”

People started to show up in droves, and posted photos and videos at the restaurant.

The panadería has only been open for two years but things have changed thanks to Garza’s viral tweet.

The tweet and the response, she says, saved her family’s business from the brink.

“I am so proud of my dad and my mom for continuing to keep the art of making pan dulce alive,” Garza said. “I am so grateful to have an opportunity to give the world a taste of my culture. Forever grateful for the support my family and I have received. Keeping tradition alive is our strive.”

As for the social media fame that came with it, Garza says her father is not affected.

“I don’t think my dad knows he’s Twitter famous and I don’t think he understands what that means either,” Garza said.

Congratulations, Jackie. You have shown everyone the power of social media when used for good.


READ: Twitter Users Are Sharing Heart Warming Stories About Parents Who Sacrificed For Their Children By Immigrating To The U.S.

Share this story with all of your friends by tapping that little share button below!

Notice any needed corrections? Please email us at corrections@wearemitu.com

Tags:

Twitter Has Busted a Ring of Fake Accounts That Posed As Black Trump Supporters

Things That Matter

Twitter Has Busted a Ring of Fake Accounts That Posed As Black Trump Supporters

By October 15, 2020 at 1:58 pm
BY  | October 15, 2020 AT 1:58 pm
Photo: George Frey/Getty Images

On Monday, Twitter announced that it has suspended 15 Twitter accounts of “Black Trump supporters” that they discovered were fake. The accounts were similar in nature, tweeting out nearly identical messages, like “YES IM BLACK AND IM VOTING FOR TRUMP!!!” and “VOTE REPUBLICAN”. The accounts quickly amassed thousands of followers and retweets.

The fake “Black Trump Supporter” accounts were discovered by social media disinformation researcher Darren Linvill, who flagged the accounts and reported them to Twitter.

The accounts violate Twitter’s rule barring users from using the platform “in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience.”

The Twitter accounts sourced their profile photos through internet image searches. One profile photo even included the search term “black man photo” at the top of the profile photo–proving that someone stole the photo from the internet and (sloppily) cropped it. Others were revealed, via reverse-image searching, to be generic stock photos of Black people.

The accounts seemed to follow a pattern: the Black Trump supporters were devout Christians, veterans, blue-collar workers, police officers…you get the picture. 

“They are impersonating Black Trump supporters, Black authoritative figures such as veterans and police officers, and various prominent individuals in order to gain rapid traction and virality,” said cybersecurity manager Lee Foster to The Washington Post.

Linvill says that the accounts don’t necessarily appear to be a coordinated campaign, although he did find traces of the Russian alphabet  in the accounts’ online records. Linvill hypothesizes that the accounts might have had monetary motives–they often tweeted out links to buy Trump merchandise. 

Another theory is that, based on the timing, whoever created the fake accounts is trying to change what appears to be the persistent narrative that President Trump is racist. The accounts became much more active in recent months, around the time when Trump refused to condemn white supremacist groups on national TV. These “Black Trump supporters” make it seem like he actually has the support of Black Americans. 

But polls and surveys prove that Trump is highly unpopular among Black Americans. The Pew Research Center shows that 81% of Black voters support Biden in the upcoming election. 

These most recent fake Twitter accounts are one of the many ways that the Republican Party has been attempting to manipulate voters this election cycle. Along with spreading disinformation, the party has set up unsanctioned ballot drop-off boxes across California. The Governor of Texas, Rick Abbott (R) also made headlines recently for restricting the amount of official ballot boxes in Texas to only one per county–a move that critics slammed as a transparent attempt to suppress the Latino vote.

Notice any needed corrections? Please email us at corrections@wearemitu.com

Tags:
Elections 2020Donald TrumpTwitter

The ‘How It Started’ Memes Are Filled With The Funny And Wholesome Content We All Need In 2020

Culture

The ‘How It Started’ Memes Are Filled With The Funny And Wholesome Content We All Need In 2020

By October 13, 2020 at 2:31 pm
BY  | October 13, 2020 AT 2:31 pm
@xolei3 / Twitter

It is not a lie to say that 2020 has been a year of disappointment and high-stress scenarios. We’ve had to quarantine from a virus, wildfires are destroying a lot of land, and well, everything else going on has just made things worse. Fortunately, on Twitter trend is giving everyone a chance to see that things can get better.

Let’s face it, 2020 has been a tough year for everyone but one Twitter trend is making life a little better.

We’ve all seen the “How It Started” memes taking over social media in recent weeks. The memes are both funny and inspirational with some showing some amazing glow ups and others showing the crushing reality of everyday life. We have all felt like the man crying over 2020 at some point over the last 7 months. It’s like this year just doesn’t stop.

Relationships are a big part of this meme trend.

Oof. This is painful and so many of us know this to be true. 😭 Sure, we can all blame our relationship woes on the current state of the world. However, that would just be doing a disservice to ourselves and our love lives. Most of us who are single now have been single for a very long time pre-Covid. But, hey, no one knows that you’re lying if you blame Covid.

A few wonderful people highlighted their transition into their true selves.

Stunning. Show-stopping. Magnificent. We love to see it. There is nothing better to see in this world than someone living their authentic truth. Like, go and do your thing. Slay all of the hearts you see, honey, and take no prisoners. We are all better in their world to be surrounded by people living in complete honesty.

The Lil Nas X joined in on the fun and highlighted his own meteoric rise to fame.

The “Old Town Road” singer really did make a big name for himself. Not only did his song get made into a duet and remix with every artist imaginable, he beat Mariah Carey’s record. Lil Nas X went from someone that no one knew to unseating Mariah Carey for longest time spent at No. 1 on the Billboard Charts.

There are some very clever takes on this meme.

So, like, who else feels like they are being personally attacked by this meme? College might have been years ago but these memories linger. Tequila is just one of those things that so many of use have to learn the hard way and those lessons stick with you.

Simone Biles gave us one of the most memorable glow ups of the meme challenge.

Simone Biles is one of the most legendary women to ever walk this planet. The way she was able to make herself known around the world as the best gymnast is no short feat. She is and will always be one of the best women to represent the U.S. in the Olympics.

READ: President Trump Thinks Injecting Disinfectants Could Cure COVID-19 And The Memes Are Hilarious

Notice any needed corrections? Please email us at corrections@wearemitu.com

Tags:
MemesfunnyComedyRelationshipsfamilyTwitter