Someone Creates Fake Economist Twitter Page to Post Pro-Rays Tweets

We know the Rays' Stadium Saga is a passionate issue.  We know everyone thinks they know the best way to solve the stalemate.  And we know how people like to tout credibility when making an argument.

Which may be why someone created a fake Twitter profile of a nationally-recognized sports economist to tweet pro-Rays stadium news:

I stumbled upon the tweets, allegedly from David Berri, a Southern Utah University economics professor and author of several books that use economics to debunk common sports myths.

I was a little suspicious why a professor from Utah would care so much about Tampa Bay:

So far, the tweets have been largely innocuous, but one day could be used to add credibility to the argument that St. Pete's council was being unreasonable in rejecting the Rays' ultimatum earlier this month.

That prompted me to email Berri, who had no idea no idea someone had created an account under his name.  He seemed slightly amused by it:

Not sure I am qualified to give Twitter Pro-Tips. But if you create fake account, pick someone with many followers: https://t.co/4XadC3OJlL
— David Berri (@wagesofwins) December 28, 2014

Good news, David - you know you've "made it" when someone creates a fake Twitter account under your name.

The other good news is this episode has introduced me to Berri's work, which looks very interesting.  I've started following his REAL Twitter feed, and may add his books to my reading list as well.

UPDATE: Someone pointed out the tweets all appear to be selectively copied from accounts of other Rays-themed accounts, such as MLB.com's Adam Berry.  Who, why, or how the tweets are getting selected remains a mystery.