Zoo deactivates Twitter account after wave of Harambe tweets
Gorilla killed when boy got into enclosure in May
The Cincinnati Zoo may have had enough with the Harambe jokes, tweets and memes because it appears they've deactivated their Twitter account.
The zoo's account went offline on Monday night after the internet had given new life to their beloved gorilla. A spokeswoman confirmed that the zoo's accounts had been deactivated, and that there would be no interviews on Tuesday.
It was about three months ago when Harambe was shot and killed after a 3-year-old boy made his way into the gorilla enclosure.
The viral story eventually faded from the headlines, but now it's back with a vengeance.
"It's really unfortunate. It's a classic case of social media mobbing," Jeff Blevins, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Cincinnati, said.
#Harambegate and #Harambe meme's were trending on Twitter Monday night and Tuesday morning, some in support of the zoo - others still angered over Harambe's death.
In an email to the Associated Press over the weekend, zoo director Thane Maynard said "We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe, Our zoo family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward more difficult for us. We are honoring Harambe by redoubling our gorilla conservation efforts and encouraging others to join us."
Social media experts say that comment only fueled the fire.
"The best advice one can give off the top is don't feed the trolls. I understand that they wanted to plead, you know hey guys knock this off. But I think that had the reverse impact," said Blevins.
Maynard’s own Twitter account was hacked on Sunday for a time. His account remained online Tuesday morning, but hadn’t been updated since Sunday.
By 11 a.m. Tuesday, Maynard's account was also closed.
Some twitter users support closing the account, knowing trolls don't give up easily.
"Give it time I guess to cool down. Let it go. But I feel like even if they do reopen their Twitter, it will start right back up," Madison White, of Lawrenceburg, said.
The zoo's Facebook account was still online Tuesday morning, but recent posts had dozens of Harambe-related comments on them.
The zoo has not said whether or not they have any plans to reactivate the Twitter account.
Zoo representatives did say they are continuing to honor Harambe by redoubling gorilla conservation efforts and encouraged others to do the same.