It would have been a clever move for the White House or Organizing for Action to turn to cute animals and social media to try to draw attention to the start of the Affordable Care Act's registration period.
But both deny having any connection to the Adorable Care Act accounts on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook that caught the attention of the political press -- and the White House -- on Thursday.
"The 'Adorable Care Act' Twitter and Tumblr accounts are not run by the White House," a White House official told POLITICO. "On social media channels, the White House highlights content from outside individuals, groups and organizations. The Adorable Care Act was highlighted by official White House channels as a creative way to raise awareness around the Affordable Care Act and HealthCare.gov."
The White House's official Twitter account shared some of @adorablecareact's images on Thursday -- beginning with one featuring a mouse saying: "I can rest easy knowing that lifetime caps on health coverage have been eliminated! Thanks, Adorable Care Act." The White House's shares helped the account attract hundreds of new followers, hitting a total of 900 just as this post was filed.
OFA also offered a denial of any involvement. "Not us," an official there said.
"Kitten coverage till age 26: prayers answered," reads the most recent image posted on @adorablecareact. It features a photo of a kitten and blue-and-white graphics reminiscent of the 2012 Obama campaign's iconography.
The earliest tweet is from Sept. 20, but the earliest post on Tumblr dates back to July 18, and features a pony and this message: "Introducting the Adorable Care Act protecting America's greatest resource one pony at a time."
Earlier in the day during his daily briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney said he wasn't aware of the emerging meme. He did, though, have a take on why it's gained traction. "Everybody loves cute animals," he said.
Read more about: White House, Twitter, Obamacare, Affordable Care Act
