The month of April 2023 will go down in the record books as being one of the most eventful in recent Twitter history. Rivaling that of October+July 2020, numerous ‘tales’ within this post have been huge, mainstream stories that involved Twitter in some way, shape, or form. Rather than write a ton of small posts about certain topics, we figured we’d combine everything into one ‘Blue Check Tale’ for the month of April 2023. Unlike other ‘Blue Check Tales’ we’ve had, this one will be way more random and full of videos, graphics, memes, and other mediums to tell the ‘stories’ instead
The Year of Beer
What happens when you mix large beer corporations, milquetoast political commentators + followers, Beer-loving Boomers, and a social media platform?
While we assume the executives at Anheuser-Busch were NOT asking themselves this question, they DID receive an answer not long after a partnership with Dylan Mulvaney was shared with the public. As is usual with our Blue Check Tales, we aren’t here to rehash “news” stories. Rather, we want to share a perspective on a given story from the world of Twitter dot com, especially from that of Blue Checkmarks. And while the story at the center of the Bud Light bickering is quite lame, the reactions on Twitter were anything but. You may want to grab a tall boy before getting into our latest Blue Check Tale: The Year of Beer.
Brief Background and Context
Everyone knows the story at the center of this whole saga, so we will keep it brief to provide some background for anyone unaware. Bud Light shared a can celebrating Dylan Mulvaney’s “1 Year Transition”, causing an uproar almost immediately from its release. The usual blue check suspects were using their favorite line, “Get Woke, Go Broke”, while others mocked it condescendingly. At this point in time, the phrase is mainstream in US political discourse and is used by both sides, with different meanings.
None of this is particularly noteworthy on the surface. If you’ve followed US Politics in the past 5 years, you know this is just a daily occurrence on Twitter dot com. To those maybe unfamiliar with Twitter sociopolitics, this is the sad state of the quality of discourse. That being said, this topic will set the stage for the remainder of the tale.
It’s also worth pointing out the existence of Twitter’s own “Truth Button”, which is found in the bottom right of a particular tweet. Also known as the “Hidden Replies” button, we’ve been seeing this feature used A LOT more as of late. Just another tidbit before diving any further.
Bud Light Breaks Their Silence
Back to the topic at hand…….cheap beer and Blue Checks. From the time the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light can was released, the company’s Twitter account was radio silent amid the social media bickering and backlash. Many were curious about what was going on, as the silence came at a time where EVERYONE was talking about the company. As the saying goes, “Silence is Deafening”, which was certainly the case for Bud Light’s Twitter account. Then on April 14th, 2023, Bud Light FINALLY resumed posting on their account with this 4 letter tweet:
Ignoring the obvious ratio the post was receiving, the replies to the tweet were just something else. There were so many wild replies and memes that we felt that the next portions of this “tale” should be told via screen-recording. Let’s take a look at each individually.
The Replies
The Quote Tweets
The “Hidden Replies”
Budweiser Tries to Change the Subject
On the SAME DAY that Bud Light returned to Twitter, their parent company decided to share an ad that attempted to show they were returning to their “roots”.
With over 10 million video views and over 50 million views on the tweet itself, the video was certainly spreading to a wide audience. Would Budweiser’s angry ex-customers forgive them for perceived “wokeness” because of some video with a Clydesdale? Or will the replies be like the tweet above? Let’s Find out.
The Replies
The “Hidden Replies”
Twitter Removes ‘Legacy’ Blue Checkmarks
April 20th, 2023, marked an important day in the world of Twitter dot com. Although the move was known to people well in advance, it certainly didn’t help control the reaction that ensued when it OFFICIALLY happened.
Twitter dot com was prepared to REMOVE the old ‘legacy’ Blue Checkmarks in favor of using Twitter Blue by itself. For those not aware, Twitter Blue can be obtained by ANYONE for a price of $8/month and provides users with a blue checkmark of their own, along with other features. A move many described as a ‘true’ form of equality for the platform going forward, how would the old, equality-loving, ‘legacy’ blue checks respond?
‘Old’ Blue Checks Respond
A truly shocking development came upon ‘legacy’ blue checks hearing the news of this new verification system, as many were irate at the thought of their shallow status symbol meaning nothing anymore. While you can safely assume this is the main reason for their anger, not everyone was as forthright about their feelings. Excuses for leaving the site ranged from complaints about the cost to melodramatic ramblings about what is and isn’t ‘democracy’.
While not everyone was as vehemently against the changes as David Hogg was, it was clear that they were unhappy with the direction ‘new Twitter’ was headed. Taking a look at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, you will see people like Joey, who seems to like Elon a bit too much:
But of course, none of these people or groups could be upstaged by our mainstream media and corporate Journalists, whose headlines and opinion pieces were by far the most hysterical and deranged.
With the saga ongoing, we figure to be talking about this one for quite some time.
Cable TV News Makes Headlines
April 2023 also saw quite a shake-up in the exciting world of cable TV news, as several big names departed major networks in quite an unexpected manner.
While the decision to move on from Lemon was partially due to low ratings with his new morning show role, Tucker’s came as he was essentially carrying his network as far as ratings were concerned. And to the surprise of nobody, his departure became apparent right away
An interesting plot twist to this story came later on, as it would be discovered that Lemon and Tucker had been in communication via text message:
What lies ahead for the two long-time media personalities may be unclear, but for the purposes of blue check Twitter, it certainly gave them something to talk about.
Random April Moments
To close out this post, we would like to share the best images/videos of the month that didn’t belong to one of our previous categories but is still noteworthy. Enjoy!
UPDATES, ADDITIONS, and EDITS
Anheuser-Busch Video+Ratio (5/6/2023)
Similar to the videos shared above, Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, Budweiser, and many others, received a large number of negative replies, and quote tweets, while utilizing the aforementioned ‘Truth Button’. Shared on April 1st of 2023, Anheuser-Busch STILL hasn’t tweeted since posting this one (so just over a month from the time this is being updated).
