Edward Snowden fans mistweet Toronto woman | Toronto Star

Sarah Snowdon has had hundreds of strangers thank her online over the last few days. Every time she refreshes Twitter, she says, she has at least five new mentions, mostly people praising her courage and conviction.

Those strangers might want to double-check their spelling though, because theyre actually trying to thank renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden.

When Snowden joined Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, he was quickly greeted by a million followers and global media coverage. He also chose the simple handle of @snowden. Sarah Snowdon had a similar idea when she joined Twitter in 2008, taking the handle @snowdon.

Theyre saying, Im so glad @snowdon is on Twitter. Hes my hero. Some [other] people are confused, Sarah Snowdon said.

Though Edward Snowden has had a small but steady stream of negative tweets directed at him, the tweets at Sarah Snowdon have been mostly positive, she said. For now, shes just watching it happen, and not correcting anybody.

I havent responded. I think I retweeted one guys tweet because it was really funny, she said.

Its not the first time her Twitter handle has been the source of confusion, either. Shes been occasionally confused for Snowden before, but before Tuesday she was more often mistaken for Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. Snowdon the person regularly gets tagged in pictures of hikers who have made the ascent up the British landmark.

Theyre always tweeting at me, either because they think Im Edward Snowden, or they think Im Mt. Snowdon Im used to it now, she said.

The extra attention hasnt been annoying, she said, though she does hope the surge of tweets dies down after a few days.

I think its hilarious. I really respect Edward Snowden, so I think its great Im glad hes on Twitter, she said.

Edward Snowden previously considered joining Twitter on Sept. 25, in an interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. During the interview, Tyson suggested Snowden join the social network.

I tried to find you on Twitter. Whats your handle? Tyson asked.

I dont actually have one yet, he responded.

You need a Twitter handle. @snowden maybe? Tyson suggested.

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Edward Snowden fans mistweet Toronto woman | Toronto Star