An alleged "parody" Twitter account is causing problems for Mayo Clinic after the user claimed to misdiagnose Trump supporters who visit the health system.
On June 27 the Twitter user, who goes by "A Doctor IRL," posted that "When Trump supporters come to my office at the Mayo Clinic, I love misdiagnosing their healthy pregnancies as ectopic so they have to abort their white fetuses."
The user's Twitter bio reads, "obstetrician at the world renowned Mayo Clinic parody."
Within days of the tweet, the Rochester, Minn.-based health system was bombarded with hundreds of messages on Twitter from users upset about the impostor account's claims, a Mayo Clinic spokesperson confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review July 2.
Mayo Clinic's official Twitter account has responded individually to many users, clarifying that the account is "fake" and "does not represent Mayo Clinic in any way."
One Twitter user on June 30 wrote "I don't know which of your staff this is, but there's obviously something up here. Medical malpractice at best, licensed murder at worst, perhaps you ought to investigate" in a tweet to the health system.
Mayo Clinic responded, "It's a fake account with no relationship to Mayo Clinic."
Mayo Clinic released a statement on Twitter June 29: "We are aware of a parody account posting claims about working at Mayo Clinic. This is a fake account that has no connection to Mayo Clinic and its claims are absolutely false. We strongly condemn the posts and have asked Twitter to remove the account."
Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review has reached out to Twitter for comment and will update as more information becomes available.