Egyptian prime minister takes heat for tweeting about Smurfs

With Egypt’s economy entering crisis mode, you’d think government officials would have their hands full. But Prime Minister Hesham Kandil seems to be finding time for the obscure mobile game Smurfs’ Village. Or at least that’s how his Twitter account made it seem on Monday, when a tweet that may have been automatically generated by ...

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611495_screen_shot_2013-04-01_at_12.png

With Egypt's economy entering crisis mode, you'd think government officials would have their hands full. But Prime Minister Hesham Kandil seems to be finding time for the obscure mobile game Smurfs' Village. Or at least that's how his Twitter account made it seem on Monday, when a tweet that may have been automatically generated by the app appeared on his feed, reading "Doctor Smurf prescribes cakes, pies and smurfberries as part of a healthy diet."

With Egypt’s economy entering crisis mode, you’d think government officials would have their hands full. But Prime Minister Hesham Kandil seems to be finding time for the obscure mobile game Smurfs’ Village. Or at least that’s how his Twitter account made it seem on Monday, when a tweet that may have been automatically generated by the app appeared on his feed, reading "Doctor Smurf prescribes cakes, pies and smurfberries as part of a healthy diet."

The bizarre tweet has since been deleted from his account, but not quickly enough to prevent an inevitable onslaught of snark. The blog Egyptian Chronicles, for instance, ran with the gleeful headline, "The PM of Smurfs Village!!"

One Twitter user blamed the politician’s smurf addiction for Egypt’s current state of turmoil:

Another pointed out the tweet’s problematic public health implications:

Some people, however, were a bit more understanding:

We’ve blogged before about politicians whose accounts have accidentally been hijacked by apps after their children used their phones to play games. Our advice still applies: In an age where a stray tweet can provoke an almost automatic backlash, politicians should keep their phones out of the hands of their children. Unless, that is, they’re playing the games themselves. 

Screenshot of Twitpic

Marya Hannun is a Ph.D. student in Arabic and Islamic studies at Georgetown University. Follow her on Twitter at: @mrhannun.

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