Amid the chaotic scenes at the Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a bit of humor related to the political tension was seen on Twitter. A photo of a protester carrying a podium from inside the Capitol building was widely circulated on the microblogging platform with some users believing his name was "Via Getty."
Unaware Twitter users began identifying the man as "Via Getty" after Ryan Lizza, Politico's chief Washington correspondent, tweeted the photo of the protester. In the picture, the unidentified man waved at the camera with a smile as he carried the podium in the other hand. The man wore a beanie cap with "TRUMP" written on it.
Lizza captioned the photo: "Via Getty, one [of] the rioters steals a podium from the Capitol."
Soon after Lizza's tweet, some Twitter users circulated the protester's photo identifying him as "Via Getty" and urged others to track him down. Some even wondered what kind of name "Via Getty" was, but continued identifying him by that name.
To make things clear, "Via Getty" is not a name. "Via Getty" meant from Getty Images — a website for stock images and editorial photography. The protester's photo was taken by Win McNamee of Getty Images.
Following the confusion, Lizza issued a clarification saying that "Via Getty" was not the protester's name.
"To be clear, 'via Getty' is not a person. It just means that this photo comes via Getty Images," Lizza tweeted.
Other Twitter users had a laugh about the apparent confusion. Journalist Brendan Keefe shared an anecdote over similar confusion while reporting a police incident.
"A reporter at a competing station once reported an 'exclusive' on a suspect's name in a major case. 'His name is Fnu Lnu, according to the police report.' The sheriff called up "FNU LNU stands for First Name Unknown/Last Name Unknown,'" Keefe shared on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the podium-carrying protester remained unidentified. It was also not clear whether the man succeeded in taking the government property out of the Capitol Hill building.
Wednesday's violent protests lead to the death of four people. Washington D.C. police arrested at least 50 protesters. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a 15-day extension of the public emergency owing to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20.
The FBI launched an investigation and sought the public's help to identify the protesters.
"Our goal is to preserve the public's constitutional right to protest by protecting everyone from violence and other criminal activity," the FBI said.
