“In everyday life in England it’s fine, the odd comment — everyone thinks they’re the first,” says a Sarah Palin from outside of Manchester. “But on Facebook it’s just a right pain in the rear end.”

Doesn’t matter if your profile picture looks nothing like Sarah Palin — the woman from Brighton’s photo was “me drunk, hanging out a shopping trolley — because there’s no escaping it. There’s just no escaping the association. A Palin from West Derby said she was stunned that so many “intelligent-looking people” sent her messages: “I mean, I am almost three decades younger than her. I look nothing like her.”

Not that she doesn’t occasionally respond: “I think a good 90 percent of her fan base must be blind or illiterate — they don’t catch on too quickly.”