Twitter Users Thought That the Site Was Shutting Down. It Is Not.
Twitter is not shutting down in 2017. We repeat: Twitter is not shutting down. You would be forgiven for thinking so, seeing that news about the social network’s imminent shutdown was trending on the network itself earlier today. Using the hashtag #SaveTwitter, users rallied around their beloved network that they thought would cease to be next year.
WTF!!? Twitter is broken! 0 followers and no retweets! #savetwitter #twitterisbrokeparty
— ✨Happy16thBdayBlake✨ (@blakkegraysbbg) August 11, 2016
It all started with a Twitter outage that only lasted a few minutes.
Woah. #savetwitter pic.twitter.com/DZ8Hk60M4f
— Alan White (@aljwhite) August 11, 2016
Then, because this is the Internet, things got out of control.
Please #savetwitter I can't go back to Facebook, because all of my family is on there.
— That Skinny Guy (@Billy_Pentz) August 11, 2016
It didn’t stop.
can we just sacrifice Facebook instead? #SaveTwitter
— Dom (@lnternally) August 11, 2016
It just kept going.
When you realise if Twitter shuts down you'll have go outside to find out what's going on in the world #savetwitter pic.twitter.com/tj0RCq1zEY
— Dan Price (@hellodanprice) August 11, 2016
And going.
And then trolls decided to spread a hoax, saying that the network would shut down for good next year, due to cyberbullying.
If you want to take down twitter bc of bullying, then maybe just shut down the internet entirely since it's EVERYWHERE #savetwitter
— brittany 🌲👑❤ (@parrillaxgomez) August 11, 2016
Then it got out of hand. #SaveTwitter started trending globally.
If you believe Twitter is shutting down – there's a Nigerian Prince out there with an amazing offer for you. #savetwitter
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) August 11, 2016
By then, a few astute people figured out what was actually happening. Journalists at The Independent reached out to Twitter. Representatives from the social network confirmed that there is absolutely no truth to the rumors and Twitter is not shutting down because of cyberbullying.
https://twitter.com/ChocMilkSheikh/status/763736498332114944
So rest assured: The social network is not dead. Twitter users can keep sending their 140-character pranks out into cyberspace for the foreseeable future and other people will keep believing them.
Luckily, Twitter isn’t shutting down and you can still tweet us @BritandCo!
(h/t Venture Beat; photo via Getty)