Groups Named 'Robin Hood' Face Confused Investors, Mass Twitter Follows After Reddit's Stock Stronghold

This week, stock trading app Robinhood faced the internet's collective ire over its controversial decision to ban several Reddit-backed trades, including GameStop, Blackberry, and AMC Theaters. Yet amid an onslaught of angry messages from a bizzare band of bigwigs, ranging from Barstool Sports founder, Dave Portnoy, a.k.a. Davey Day Trader ...

... to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ...

... and even the Zodiac Killer himself,  Senator Ted Cruz ... 

... it seems several Twitter users were confused about which Robinhood they were contacting in light of the scandal, hitting up pretty much any and every organization named after the legendary outlaw. 

"Robin Hood is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization," The Robin Hood Foundation, which is aimed at "fighting poverty" in New York City wrote on Twitter. "We are not affiliated with any for-profit businesses that use a similar name."

Aside from causing a digital for brouhaha for several small groups bearing the name,  it seems the app's newsworthiness may have actually furthered the fictional hero's mission of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. "We've gotten a pickup in small-dollar contribution," Kevin Thompson, the charity's communications director told NPR. In an even more fitting twist of events, it seems some of these donations may have come from investors who say they made bank off of the GameStop boom, Thompson explained. 

However, the charity wasn't alone in benefiting from the confusion -- the World Wide Robin Hood Society, a Nottingham-based group centered around celebrating the famed literary outlaw has also faced a sudden influx of social media attention as the investing service dominated the headlines and our national conversation, their follower count skyrocketing from 250 to more than 50,000, according to the national radio service. 

"Lovely to have all these new followers," the group wrote on Twitter on Thursday. "can we just check that you know that you’re following The World Wide Robin Hood Society in Nottingham and not the Robin Hood App .. if so .. a big welcome from Sherwood."

Since then, the group has continued to lean into its moniker alongside its new group of followers, shouting out Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, who has been notably involved in the Twitter stock drama ... 

... and even posting jokes about their own type of stock selling experience. 

 

 So, folks, it's been a long week for all of us -- especially those sharing the name of a charitable English hero. Happy Friday, my band of merry men. Huzzah!

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ on Twitter @TennesAnyone.