So who lied about Beyoncé being at the Democratic National Convention?
In case anyone still cares, here's a short thread on how an online rumor takes off:
Amid rumors that Taylor Swift or Beyonce would perform at the DNC, this blue check account with 600,000 followers tweeted at 12:28 PM CT that a "big surprise" was on the way. The tweet took off. pic.twitter.com/xvG7z3fh4z
- Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) August 23, 2024
After intense speculations the "special guest" at the DNC turned out to be not real
As far as i can tell it all actually started with CNN's Jamie Gangel noting that there was an empty block in the schedule for the night and that only a few people know it's purpose.
The Angry_Staffer account really got the rumor about the special guest started
Other popular guessed were Taylor Swift, Mitt Romney and GWB (?)
At 6:49 PM CT TMZ confirmed a Beyoncé performance
Sometime later The Hollywoodreporter and the WaPo said that they had confirmed that this is not true. AP followed later with the same.
The Angry_Staffer apologized but said they heard it from legit people, MSNBC's Katie Phang replied that she also heard that Beyoncé was in the building
Then, to seemingly tie it all together, TMZ falsely reported at 6:49 PM CT that Beyonce would perform at the DNC. And that was that.
A rumor went from thin air, to blue check influencer accounts, to questionable news sources in just a few hours. pic.twitter.com/yMvzeN5ms6
- Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) August 23, 2024
Contrary to fake news posts, I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight. My guess is that it will be Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. So disappointing, I know!
- Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) August 22, 2024
A representative for Beyoncé says the singer will not attend the 2024 #DNC.
“Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there,” the Grammy-winning star's rep tells THR. “The report of a performance is untrue” https://t.co/87ieSfYwJV pic.twitter.com/qooL2d5CV8
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 23, 2024
FWIW: folks within the DNC were told that she was in the building so trust me it wasn't just a random thing.
- Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) August 23, 2024
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