A strangely aggressive tweet sent by the official City of New York Twitter account taking a swipe at Cleveland, Ohio wound up backfiring when social media users – including New Yorkers – pointed out it was a bit cringe-inducing.
On 2 July, the City of New York Twitter account posted a photo of the New York City skyline under heavy cloud cover alongside the caption: “A gloomy day in New York City is still better than a sunny day in Cleveland”.
While it is entirely possible that the social media intern running the account simply assumed that Ohioans had not yet reached a stage of technological advancement to operate Twitter and thus would not see the post, it no less caught the attention – and ire – of Buckeyes on the platform.
“We in Cleveland beg to differ,” Senator Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, tweeted in reply.
Nina Turner, a progressive congressional candidate in Ohio's 11th district, which includes Cleveland, issued a similar tweet that also evoked the “beg to differ” line.
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Slate writer Jordan Weissman pointed out that if New York wants to troll other cities, there are better options than Cleveland.
“Kind of baffling to go after a struggling mid sized-city like this when Boston is sitting right there ready to be trolled,” he wrote.
Most people defending Cleveland responded by posting photos of bright, sunny days in the Ohio city, or pointing out that they could buy an entire house with a front and a back yard for what most New Yorkers pay for a one bedroom apartment.
Other posters – including New Yorkers embarrassed by the tweet – took turns lambasting the post and pointing out New York's less desirable traits.
Matt Whitlock, a Republican party operative, chimed in on the post, seemingly less to defend Cleveland and more to attack New York.
“Your mayor kills groundhogs, your governor kills seniors, and your city smells like fish and burning garbage,” he wrote.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland even got in on the action, posting an eye-roll emoji in response to the tweet.
While it's not clear what specifically prompted the response, the city's tweet may not be completely unprovoked.
Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio announced back in February that the state would spend $50m on a marketing campaign on the East and West coasts to convince coastal city-dwellers to pull up their roots and re-settle in Ohio.
These ads often incorporate one-liners to try to pitch why Ohio is better than wherever the ad is placed.
“Your buildings are taller, our taxes are smaller,” one of the billboards, located in New York City, read.
It is possible that New York City's tweet was a response to Ohio's ongoing ad campaign.
