The National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota is apologizing after their official Twitter account attacked U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney, calling him a “fraud” on Wednesday.
The Twitter account for the NWS in Grand Forks responded to an earlier tweet from Romney where he lamented Tuesday’s news about Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen’s legal troubles.
The Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports the NWS clarified the tweet was a mistake made by an employee who thought he was logged into his personal account.
“We realize it was political in nature and something atypical of the National Weather Service,” science operations officer Tom Grafenauer said. All employees have access to the organization’s Twitter account to post weather updates for the community, he said.
“An employee had thought that he had logged out and was using his own account,” Grafenauer said.
Going forward, the weather service office is considering an additional apology to the public and reviewing its social media policy with employees.
“Stick with the weather,” Grafenauer said. “Stick with the facts. We don’t put our opinions, especially our political opinions, out there.”
