Christiane Amanpour fooled by fake tea party Twitter account: 'Seriously?'

Reporter Christiane Amanpour responded to a parody Twitter account for a “Tea Party patriot” posing as a congressional representative.

The ABC “Global Affairs” anchor and host of CNN International’s global affairs program posted a tweet promoting her interview with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on reports that the U.S. had tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone.

A “Rep. Steven Smith,” who claimed to represent Georgia’s 15th congressional district, replied to her message suggesting that such surveillance was warranted.

“Maybe if we kept a better eye on them in 1939, WWII wouldn’t have happened,” the “congressman” claimed.

Amanpour reposted his reply, along with her response: “Seriously?”

Seriously? RT @RepStevenSmith: @camanpour@cnni Maybe if we kept a better eye on them in 1939, WWII wouldn't have happened.

— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) October 31, 2013

Although this wouldn’t be the first time a tea party lawmaker had made a dubious claim, this particular account – which has since been suspended -- apparently had been created within the prior 24 hours.

There is no Rep. Steven Smith, and there is no 15th congressional district in Georgia.

Mediaite reported the “congressman’s” photo had been lifted from the website for a New Hampshire big and tall apparel shop, and the account’s 5,600 followers were largely based in other countries and were likely purchased in bulk.

The website reported that whoever owned the account also tried to provoke other public figures, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and MSNMBC’s Rachel Maddow.