Why '#TrumpIsDead' was trending on Twitter (when he's not dead)

Tweets of Donald Trump's decease person been greatly exaggerated.

You whitethorn person woken up to #TrumpIsDead trending connected Twitter this morning, and swiped implicit to your quality app of prime to find retired more.

Of course, determination would person been nary specified communicative there. The erstwhile US president is live and good - to coin 1 of his favourite phrases, this hashtag was a stone-cold lawsuit of fake news.

But successful a co-ordinated effort to trial Elon Musk's stance connected disinformation connected the level pursuing his takeover, trending topics successful the US and beyond were for hours topped with quality of Mr Trump's evident demise.

Why did it happen?

As ever, erstwhile thing trends connected Twitter, particularly if it ends up being mendacious oregon misleading, overmuch of the treatment was driven by radical wondering what connected Earth was going on.

But it began arsenic an effort to fundamentally instrumentality it to caller proprietor Musk, who has made contented moderation - and his evident tendency to loosen it - a cardinal portion of the speech surrounding his takeover.

"#TrumpIsDead is the champion retaliation to Musk saying disinformation is escaped speech," said one.

Another who tweeted the hashtag added: "I mean, helium mightiness beryllium alive, but since we're seemingly going successful a caller absorption connected fact-checking successful Chief Twit's caller world, I conjecture we'll ne'er know."

"There has ne'er been a hashtag that has trending bigger," said one, echoing Mr Trump's benignant of self-praise.

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

Verified accounts got successful connected the joke, with 1 from comedian Tim Heidecker racking up adjacent to 10,000 retweets, portion others mocked up screenshots of quality sites including CNN.

In the US, #TrumpIsDead adjacent overtook the evening's World Series shot action.

Read more:
The celebs quitting Twitter aft Musk's takeover

How are trends determined?

Trending topics connected Twitter travel from a operation of the sheer fig of tweets and the enactment of an algorithm, designed to tailor which ones look for idiosyncratic users based connected their interests and location.

However, Twitter volition enactment to forestall a hashtag oregon contented from trending if it violates its rules.

For now, astatine least, that includes thing deemed arsenic level manipulation oregon spam, and besides immoderate forms of alleged "social coordination" which whitethorn dispersed misinformation.

Twitter's caput of information and integrity Yoel Roth tweeted past night, conscionable arsenic the hashtag was trending: "We're staying vigilant against attempts to manipulate conversations astir the 2022 US midterms."

Sky News has contacted Twitter for remark astir the Trump hashtag.

Read more:
Musk tweeks - past deletes - nexus to Pelosi onslaught conspiracy theory

Have Trump oregon Musk responded?

Mr Trump is yet to code his instrumentality to the trending charts connected his level Truth Social, wherever helium has been posting since being banned from Twitter successful January 2021.

There has besides been nary remark from Musk - but his latest tweets bash subordinate to Mr Trump's Twitter status.

Having indicated earlier this twelvemonth that helium would reverse Mr Trump's ban, radical person been waiting to spot erstwhile suspended accounts mightiness beryllium allowed back.

But helium tweeted overnight: "Twitter volition not let anyone who was deplatformed for violating Twitter rules backmost connected level until we person a wide process for doing so, which volition instrumentality astatine slightest a fewer much weeks."

That means nary instrumentality for Mr Trump earlier adjacent week's US midterms, arsenic Musk works to make a caller moderation assembly with "widely divers viewpoints".