Tinder Trolls ‘Vanity Fair’ Writer Like a Crazy Ex-Hookup
In what shall now be referred to as Tinder’s glory days, those who didn’t like it could simply delete the app from their devices and move on.
But its latest “update” isn’t quite so passive. Now, if you diss Tinder, there’s a decent chance it’ll attempt to take you down publicly on Twitter. Let me explain.
On Tuesday night, displeased over a new Vanity Fair article entitled “Tinder and the Dawn of the ‘Dating Apocalypse’”—which details the modern-day mating rituals proliferated by dating apps—Tinder’s social media person went on a tweeting bender against writer Nancy Jo Sales (and, in turn, giving her piece TONS of free publicity).
To combat the negative slant placed on the app by Sales, Tinder attempted to clarify some of its statistics (“1.7% of Tinder users are married”), congratulate itself on the “shit ton of marriages” it has made a reality, and invite Sales to “talk to [Tinder’s] many users in […] North Korea.” Uhhh…
Perhaps most odd is the fact that Tinder’s rambling monologue was apparently premeditated. Buzzfeed’s Claudia Koerner tweeted that, Tuesday, she “got a pitch from a PR person that Tinder was about to tweet storm, and I should watch for it.” So, guess we can’t put this one down to pure adrenaline?
…Which makes it all the more strange, then, that early Wednesday morning, Gawker received the following statement from Tinder—somewhat retracting the app’s aggressive tweeting style:
“We have a passionate team that truly believes in Tinder. While reading a recent Vanity Fair article about today’s dating culture, we were saddened to see that the article didn’t touch upon the positive experiences that the majority of our users encounter daily. Our intention was to highlight the many statistics and amazing stories that are sometimes left unpublished, and, in doing so, we overreacted.”
What I’m getting from all of this is that, if Tinder were a dude, he’d be the type who seems really chill and cool for like, the first two weeks you’re hanging out, and then ends up losing his sh-t the first time you suggest a double date and then tries to apologize via text and then is STILL texting you months later but like… who even has time for that?? Bye, Tindelicia.
On her end, Sales has retweeted approximately five million anti-Twitter tweets, including this epic one from user jayne_tweets: “It’s like all the dudes who troll @Tinder sending dick pics & whining got together and are running the social media account.”
See Tinder’s 30-tweet rant in full, below.
Hey @nancyjosales — that survey is incorrect. If you’re interested in having a factual conversation, we’re here. https://t.co/SLWlTLvJuf
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Hey @nancyjosales — that survey is incorrect. If you’re interested in having a factual conversation, we’re here. https://t.co/SLWlTLvJuf
— Tinder (@Tinder)
-@VanityFair & @nancyjosales — we have lots of data. We surveyed 265,000 of our users. But it doesn’t seem like you’re interested in facts.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Our actual data says that 1.7% of Tinder users are married — not 30% as the preposterous GlobalWebIndex article indicated.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
It’s disappointing that @VanityFair thought that the tiny number of people you found for your article represent our entire global userbase
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Next time reach out to us first @nancyjosales… that’s what journalists typically do.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
The Tinder Generation is real. Our users are creating it. But it’s not at all what you portray it to be.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Tinder users are on Tinder to meet people for all kinds of reasons. Sure, some of them — men and women — want to hook up.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Just like in real life. And in the many years that existed before Tinder.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
But we know from our own survey data that it’s actually a minority of Tinder users.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Our data tells us that the vast majority of Tinder users are looking for meaningful connections.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
And our data also tells us that Tinder actually creates those meaningful connections.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
We have tons and tons of emails from people that have all kinds of amazing experiences on Tinder.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
It’s about meeting new people for all kinds of reasons. Travel, dating, relationships, friends and a shit ton of marriages.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Talk to the female journalist in Pakistan who wrote just yesterday about using Tinder to find a relationship where being gay is illegal.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Talk to our many users in China and North Korea who find a way to meet people on Tinder even though Facebook is banned.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Talk to the many Tinder couples — gay and straight — that have gotten married after meeting on Tinder.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Or talk to people that have made some of their best friends on Tinder.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
We love ALL of these #SwipedRight stories. Tinder is simply how people meet.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
The ability to meet people outside of your closed circle in this world is an immensely powerful thing.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
So we are going to keep focusing on bringing people together. That’s why we’re here. That is why all of us at Tinder work so hard.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
If you want to try to tear us down with one-sided journalism, well, that’s your prerogative.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
You could have talked about how everyone on Tinder is authenticated through Facebook. And how we show users the friends they have in common.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Or you could have talked about how everyone on Tinder is on an equal playing field.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Users can’t message each other unless BOTH people are interested in one another.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
You could have talked about how users build a Tinder profile that expresses who they are.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Or how millions of Tinder users have connected their Instagram accounts, so potential matches can learn more about them.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
This all creates social accountability so that Tinder users treat each other well.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
Instead, your article took an incredibly biased view, which is disappointing.
— Tinder (@Tinder)
But it’s not going to dissuade us from building something that is changing the world. #GenerationTinder
— Tinder (@Tinder)
More from Yahoo Style:
Love At First Swipe? The Risks of Tinder Judging
#TinderTuesdays: That Time I Unintentionally ‘Catfished’ Tinder Guys
Eavesdropper Live-tweets the Worst Tinder Date Ever
