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- The World Wide Robin Hood Society’s Twitter following increased roughly 100-fold in around 24 hours.
- Users had mistaken the society, which celebrates the outlaw Robin Hood, for the trading app Robinhood.
- This isn’t the first time. It’s been receiving messages intended for Robinhood for years.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
GameStop share prices aren’t the only thing booming after Redditors lashed out at Wall Street hedge funds.
The social media following for the World Wide Robin Hood Society has skyrocketed, too.
Its number of Twitter followers has increased roughly 100-fold in around 24 hours.
After having less than 400 followers on Thursday morning, the account had more than 40,000 followers on Friday at around 7 am ET.
Stock trading app Robinhood became embroiled in in the GameStop stock chaos after it stopped allowing users to buy GameStop stock on Thursday morning, allowing users to sell only. GameStop stock has gained massively in recent weeks – from being below $5 in late 2020 to over $450 per share on Thursday morning.
As well as facing backlash from Redditors, who then review-bombed the app on the Google Play Store, Robinhood's decision has also come under fire from the likes of Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
This has generated huge attention for other groups with the same name, such as the World Wide Robin Hood Society, however.
The society, which is based in Sherwood, Nottingham, promotes learning about the legendary British outlaw Robin Hood. It was set up in 1988 by four people "who wanted to harness the legend of Robin Hood and spread the word across the globe," Lisa Douglas, who runs the society's Twitter account, told Insider.
The massive soar in interest this week was "overwhelming" and a "total surprise," she said, but added that "everyone has been so friendly."
This isn't the first time the society has been mistaken for the app. It's been receiving messages intended for Robinhood for years, Douglas said.
Despite the sudden boom, the society hopes the Twitter followers will stay with the account after the Robinhood-GameStop hype dies down.
"We have got lots of plans for the website and I really want to make the effort to engage with people via social media," Douglas said. "Nottinghamshire is a fabulous place and I'm hoping this will encourage lots of people to visit us!"
The society's sudden growth echoes the experience of another business that also boomed after being mistaken for another.
The family-run garden center Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Pennsylvania became the subject of international attention in November after Trump's election team chose it to host a press conference contesting the election results. Many believe his team mistook it for Philadelphia's luxury Four Seasons hotel.
Like the Robin Hood Society, the garden center was also able to take advantage of the apparent mix-up. It launched merchandise sales, including stickers that play on Trump's campaign slogans and hoodies with American flags on them, and raked in $1.3 million from their sales in a month.