TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

'#TrumpIsDead' trends on Twitter as users test Elon Musk's approach to fake news

'#TrumpIsDead' trends on Twitter as users test Elon Musk's approach to fake news

Donald Trump is not dead, nor is he back on Twitter, but the former US president became a top trending topic as users set out to test the stance of the social media platform's new owner on disinformation.

Tweets of Donald Trump's death have been greatly exaggerated.

You may have woken up to #TrumpIsDead trending on Twitter this morning, and swiped over to your news app of choice to find out more.

Of course, there would have been no such story there. The former US president is alive and well - to coin one of his favourite phrases, this hashtag was a stone-cold case of fake news.

But in a co-ordinated attempt to test Elon Musk's stance on disinformation on the platform following his takeover, trending topics in the US and beyond were for hours topped with news of Mr Trump's apparent demise.

Why did it happen?


As ever, when something trends on Twitter, especially if it ends up being false or misleading, much of the discussion was driven by people wondering what on Earth was going on.

But it began as an effort to essentially stick it to new owner Musk, who has made content moderation - and his apparent desire to loosen it - a key part of the conversation surrounding his takeover.


"#TrumpIsDead is the best retaliation to Musk saying disinformation is free speech," said one.

Another who tweeted the hashtag added: "I mean, he might be alive, but since we're apparently going in a new direction on fact-checking in Chief Twit's new world, I guess we'll never know."

"There has never been a hashtag that has trending bigger," said one, echoing Mr Trump's style of self-praise.


At its peak, tens of thousands of tweets drove the hashtag to the top of the trending charts.

Verified accounts got in on the joke, with one from comedian Tim Heidecker racking up close to 10,000 retweets, while others mocked up screenshots of news sites including CNN.

In the US, #TrumpIsDead even overtook the evening's World Series baseball action.

How are trends determined?


Trending topics on Twitter come from a combination of the sheer number of tweets and the work of an algorithm, designed to tailor which ones appear for individual users based on their interests and location.

However, Twitter will act to prevent a hashtag or content from trending if it violates its rules.

For now, at least, that includes anything deemed as platform manipulation or spam, and also any forms of so-called "social coordination" which may spread misinformation.

Twitter's head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth tweeted last night, just as the hashtag was trending: "We're staying vigilant against attempts to manipulate conversations about the 2022 US midterms."

Sky News has contacted Twitter for comment about the Trump hashtag.

Have Trump or Musk responded?


Mr Trump is yet to address his return to the trending charts on his platform Truth Social, where he has been posting since being banned from Twitter in January 2021.

There has also been no comment from Musk - but his latest tweets do relate to Mr Trump's Twitter status.

Having indicated earlier this year that he would reverse Mr Trump's ban, people have been waiting to see when suspended accounts might be allowed back.

But he tweeted overnight: "Twitter will not allow anyone who was deplatformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks."

That means no return for Mr Trump before next week's US midterms, as Musk works to create a new moderation council with "widely diverse viewpoints".

Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×