Published , by Asif Khan
Published , by Asif Khan
Twitter, currently known as X, has become increasingly unreliable when it comes to breaking news and random trends. Today's latest misinformation tornado comes in the form of a rumor claiming that Google is shutting down the popular Gmail email service. This is not true, as it is the result of a series of jokes from people who paid for blue checkmarks on the social media platform.
Community Notes have been applied to several viral tweets stating "Google is not sunsetting Gmail. This is a fabricated image posted as satire, but people in the comments are taking it seriously. The official Gmail website makes no mention of this; and no tech news website has covered anything regarding Google sunsetting Gmail."
It's rather amusing to see the "Xperts" on Twitter actually mention using a reliable source in this Community Note, as many users of the platform have an intense hatred and distrust of the so-called mainstream media. Other prominent tech bros like Chris Bakke reshared the joke image adding even more satirical claims causing a lot of readers to believe the rumor. A Community Note has also been applied to his tweet reading "This is a satirical post which is being quickly spread around and is confused by many believing it is real. It is not. Google has not announced any changes to Gmail."
Even more users are spreading misinformation with obviously fake videos featuring Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Google has been the focus of a lot of jokes on Twitter in recent days with the company's latest Gemini AI effort launching in rough shape.
Twitter's prolonged slow-motion death spiral has certainly been something to witness, but times like this really highlight the dangers of social media platforms and the speed at which misinformation can be spread. Even if done in jest, things can go sideways faster than Community Notes can step in. Twitter users willing to pay for verification are able to amplify fake news, AI bots are running rampant, and the company's CTO Elon Musk spends more time posting stolen memes than doing anything to constructively address the platform's issues.