SOPA vs. soap: Twitter users get it wrong, make bad jokes

January 18, 2012 By Andrew Couts

Words are hard, as the confusion on Twitter about the difference between "SOPA" (the controversial anti-piracy bill) and "soap" so proves.

As the mass online blackout against the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and the “PROTECT IP Act” (PIPA) climbs over its midpoint, more and more citizens are becoming aware of these contentious pieces of anti-piracy legislation. Well, sorta. If Twitter is any indication — and, with thousands of popular sites offline today, it’s one of the few indicators we have left — it seems as though the acronym “SOPA” is being confused with “soap,” the magical cleaning product. Besides a smattering of befuddlement over the similar spellings, many users are taking the opportunity to show off their “skills” as comedians. Here, a sampling of the best-worst examples:

For more stupid tweets about SOPA, Wikipedia and the blackout in general, check out this one-day joke Twitter account, @herpderpedia.

[Image via Big Pants Production/Shutterstock]

Showing 5 comments

Steve Loki Thecoffeepirate Tara at 6:14am 19th January 2012 my-my, SOPA inverted, distended, a virtual fly in the SOPA, bubbles in my soupa Hmmm? Oh dear, the perils of twittification, I must learn to speak and think beyond a limited set of characters :P hahaha! *washing the internet* =^_^=
crestfallen706 at 6:10pm 18th January 2012 the only intelligent informed comment was the last one XP
Sean Michael Parmenter at 7:26pm 18th January 2012 Interesting to see how many Spanish speakers will get it confused with "soup"
Aimee Taylor at 6:58pm 18th January 2012 No SOPA for YOU!
jesterking at 10:45am 18th January 2012 Get the masses talking... and proves my point about twitter too ;)