About

New Jersey's Twitter Account is the official state Twitter profile of New Jersey, under the handle @NJGov. Since launching in April of 2018, the account has grown more focused on memes related to state news and pride, leading to broader national notoriety.

History

The account is run by Megan Coyne and Pearl Gabel,^[1] both of whom work in Governor Phil Murphy's office. The pair began growing the account by posting about the state via topical meme formats. For example, on October 17th, 2019, the account posted a Sign Bunny meme about Central New Jersey^[2] (shown below, left). On December 6th, the account posted "Your mom" in response to a Twitter user asking "Who let New Jersey have a Twitter?"^[3] The tweet gained over 87,000 retweets and 498,000 likes (shown below, right). The New York Times marked the tweet as a watershed moment for the account, writing that it "vaulted @NJGov into the spotlight."

Since the "Your Mom" tweet, the account has remained active posting memes and jokes related to state news and state pride. For example, on March 19th, 2020, the account tweeted an emoji sheriff reminding people to stay home and practice social distancing (shown below, left).^[5] The account has an ongoing feud with the Twitter account for Delaware, posting jokes at the account's expense. For example, on February 2nd, 2020 the account posted a Shakira's Tongue video taunting Delaware (shown below, right).^[4]

Online Presence

After the "Your Mom" tweet, the New Jersey Twitter account garnered significant media attention. It was profiled in the New York Times, State Scoop,^[6] and The Daily Dot.^[7] The account has over 245,000 followers.^[8]

Search Interest

External References