Did J.K. Rowling Buy a Twitter User’s Home as Revenge for His Criticism?

On 23 August 2017, comedy web site Funny or Die posted an article appearing to report that Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling had taken vengeance on a Twitter critic by buying his home. “Two years ago,” the article says, “Rowling tweeted this, in support of refugees coming to Europe.”

The article includes the following, which is a real tweet posted by Rowling in September 2015:

If you can’t imagine yourself in one of those boats, you have something missing. They are dying for a life worth living. #refugeeswelcome

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 3, 2015

The response included here is real:

Said the millionaire on her gold iphone in her mansion https://t.co/3Qh5eK6yZ6

— Luke (@lukekocura) September 4, 2015

The tweet picked up enough traction for Rowling to notice. So she tweeted this back at him, and most people assumed she was messing around.

She responded:

.@Lukekocura I’d type a longer retort, but these diamond buttons really hurt my fingers. pic.twitter.com/RJ19nIMd94

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 4, 2015

The article veers into satire at this point with an entirely fabricated tweet. J.K. Rowling never responded to @lukekocura, vowing that she would own his “shack” within two years. Nor did she then follow up two years later, bitterly inviting @lukekocura to visit his former home. The article also includes several details about “Luke Kocura”, all of which are entirely fabricated for comedic effect.

Despite being published on a comedy web site, the Funny or Die article appears to have fooled plenty of Twitter users.