Cinci Enquirer goes viral after masses confuse them with ‘National’ tabloid

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The National Enquirer is gracing the nation’s headlines again on Thursday, but somehow a newsroom in Cincinnati is receiving all the attention on social media.

David Pecker, the CEO of American Media Inc. — the publisher of New York City headquartered supermarket tabloid National Enquirer — was granted immunity by federal prosecutors as part of an ongoing investigation into President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen and the payments made to two women who allegedly slept with the president, it was revealed Thursday.

That storyline, however, left the Cincinnati Enquirer — a local newspaper in the Queen City — to take the social media heat.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. The newspaper is regularly confused on Twitter for the nationally published tabloid due to its simple Twitter handle that the company acquired in 2008: @Enquirer.

“People just truly actually think we are the National Enquirer,” said Mallorie Sullivan, the newspaper’s social media manager who joined the publication in 2015.

Sullivan said she often attempts to correct people on social media who accidentally tag them. She’s even convinced people to subscribe to the newspaper that way, she claimed. But on Thursday, once Pecker’s face adorned the front page of many news websites, Sullivan chose to react to the increased number of confusions with a single tweet that has now gone viral.

“I would really appreciate it if people would stop confusing us,” Sullivan said. “It would make my life a hell of a lot easier. But if they’re reading our content, I guess that’s a good thing, but then they might just be yelling into the void like people do on Twitter.”

But confusion is nothing new, and it doesn’t happen only on social media. Sullivan said that the newsroom often fields calls from people who believe they’ve seen UFOs.

In Sullivan’s experience on social media, however, folks usually tag them in confusion when they’re making fun of the National Enquirer — a tabloid not exactly known for its journalistic integrity.

As her simple tweet attempting to clarify their identity gains greater notice online, Sullivan has high expectations.

“This is our first big viral tweet because of this,” she said, “so hopefully these people learn.”