Last name Janus, first name Hugh: American Twitter users wanted to know what “Hugh Janus” was doing trending on Twitter Wednesday.
Be serious
The name was part of a U.K. political prank, which in turn was part of leftist backlash against a brand-new right-leaning news channel — but many American observers were just here for the LOLs.
The prank
On Tuesday and Wednesday, GB News channel was spammed with Bart Simpson-style prank emails from the likes of “Hugh Janus,” “Mike Hunt” and “Mike Oxlong” that ended up being read on air.
The reaction
GB News host Simon McCoy, who was one of the pranksters’ victims, during his show Wednesday afternoon sternly admonished the “idiots” to “grow up,” seemingly unwittingly taking on the role of Moe the Bartender.
