EPA sends tweet about Kim Kardashian game

The Twitter account for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water sent an automated tweet Monday night about a mobile game featuring Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian.

The tweet, which was deleted within hours, read “I’m now a C-List celebrity in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. Come join me and become famous too by playing on iPhone!”, with a link to download the game.

{mosads}It led to thousands of retweets and responses, mostly in confusion or mockery.

Lawmakers also mocked the tweet.

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) tweeted “I’m the last original author of the Clean Water Act, but I have no idea who/what a Kardashian is and I rarely play games. You OK, @EPAwater?” Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Mich.) said “I hope the Kardashians don’t mind being associated with something that spends millions without contributing to society. @EPAwater”

The EPA took the gaffe in stride. The water office tweeted Tuesday morning: “Whoops…our bad. Sorry about tweet. Upside – more attention for the Office of Water (http://water.epa.gov ), thanks @KimKardashian”

An EPA spokeswoman blamed the mistake on an agency fellow.

“An EPA fellow inadvertently triggered an auto-generated tweet,” the spokeswoman said. “She regrets the error and has been advised on the sensitivities of using social media.”

The Kardashian game, launched last month, challenges users to become increasingly famous Hollywood stars. Like many applications, it gives users the option to post game statuses to Twitter.

— This story was updated at 11:58 a.m.