Fake Tweets, Broken Tests, and a Misinformation Campaign: How The College Board Botched Spring Semester
Months of bad press culminated in missed tests and tears
--
On May 13, 2020, Twitter user “Clark,” a.k.a. @dm9wktlty2, posted the following: “Thank you @COLLEGEBOARD for releasing vital exam updates via Twitter….it really shows how much you care.”
The College Board is a 120-year-old nonprofit that develops and administers curriculum and standardized, fee-based tests for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Its tests, which include Advanced Placement exams and the SAT, are taken by millions of college hopefuls each year.
The problem is that Clark doesn’t appear to be real, and the Twitter account no longer exists.
Someone from the organization was evidently pleased by Clark’s enthusiastic tweet — it was quickly screenshotted and blasted to journalists on the College Board’s media list. The message was clear: despite months of negative press about glitchy tests and completely botched exams, students love the College Board’s online AP tests.
The problem is that Clark doesn’t appear to be real, and the Twitter account no longer exists. In its email blast, the College Board also included an Instagram post from “Mariana,” aka @latinajihyo, which read “finished my first ever AP exam,” and was illustrated with a fist-shaking Beyonce gif. OneZero was unable to find that account. Instagram told OneZero that there’s no account associated with such a user.
The College Board declined to explain this discrepancy. Instead, a spokesperson directed OneZero to a statement about how 91% of AP students surveyed wanted tests this year despite remote learning brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
