Multi-award-winning SFF writer Alyssa Wong recently came under attack by internet trolls who attempted to discredit her using a fake tweet.
Wong had just started her stint at Marvel Comics with the recent announcement of her upcoming work on the current Aero series when the malicious online attacks began last week.
You know how I’ve been telling you to follow the brilliant writer Alyssa Wong, a.k.a. @crashwong ?
— Greg Pak (@gregpak) July 19, 2019
Check out a lovely sneak preview page from AERO #2, written by @crashwong and yours truly with art by @popmhan and colors by @Toonfed! In stores August 7! pic.twitter.com/mWYJ5Gf4gQ
— Greg Pak (@gregpak) July 19, 2019
It should be noted that Wong has been heavily critical of Marvel EIC CB Cebulski after he admitted two years ago that he wrote under a fictitious Japanese identity, Akira Yoshida when he was an editor. Cebulski concocted the fictitious writer to circumvent Marvel Comics’ practice of not paying to hire their own editors to write comic books.
Wong expressed her criticisms toward Cebulski back in 2017 with some scathing remarks on Twitter.
Now, some online trolls are creating controversy to tarnish Wong’s new work at Marvel by passing around the old tweets and also making a fake tweet go viral.
In the doctored tweet that was written purportedly after Stan Lee’s passing, Wong was accused of berating the legendary comic character creator.
The fake tweet spread beyond Twitter, with some YouTubers riding on the controversy.
On Change.org, 80 people signed a petition titled “Fire Alyssa Wong and others for libel, racism, and attacking 9/11 victims.”
However, a quick check easily disproves the claim as the supposed sarcastic response by another Twitter user in the viral screenshot turned out to be posted back in 2017.
Wong herself has taken to Twitter to deny that such a tweet existed, noting her “enormous respect for Stan Lee and his legacy.”
Hey folks, I’ve been seeing some tweets circulating that are falsely attributed to me. Those are not my words. I have enormous respect for Stan Lee and his legacy, and I wouldn’t be working for Marvel if I didn’t.
— Alyssa Wong 🌸🌈 (@crashwong) July 31, 2019
As Bleeding Cool has noted, given the supposed post has been retweeted, there should be at least a retweet, cache, or archive that can be used as proof that it actually existed.
Marvel representatives have reportedly discussed her earlier tweets about Cebulski but the fake tweet concerning Stan Lee never came up.
Hi friends, thank your for your love & support over the past few days. It’s been overwhelming in the best way. 💜
— Alyssa Wong 🌸🌈 (@crashwong) August 2, 2019
Aero #2, which is supposed to be Wong’s Marvel debut, currently does not list her among the writers in the previews posted online.
Featured image left via crashwong.net, (right) via Twitter/@crashwong
