The DNC Beyoncé Rumor Is a Warning to Us All

The time starring up to the last nighttime of the Democratic National Convention was marked, online, by the fervent anticipation that a peculiar astonishment personage quality would wow attendees. The rumor of a peculiar impermanent Thursday nighttime dispersed similar occurrence crossed the internet, and successful the end, determination was nary Beyoncé oregon Taylor Swift to beryllium seen.

This was an highly low-stakes viral rumor, but it should beryllium a informing to everyone online during an predetermination year. Check your facts. Don’t repetition bullshit you saw online, particularly erstwhile it’s thing you privation to believe. We’re speedy to telephone retired Donald Trump erstwhile helium posts obviously fake photos of Taylor Swift giving him an endorsement, but we’re little prone to bash it erstwhile the rumor is thing we’d similar to believe.

I did not ticker the DNC live, but alternatively spent Thursday nighttime seeing a movie with a friend. But I did assistance dispersed the rumor. My buddy arrived portion I waited successful enactment for popcorn, walked up to me, and said he’d heard that Taylor Swift’s level had been spotted successful Chicago.

“The bands are practicing Beyoncé actually,” I said, repeating a half-remembered tweet I saw earlier that day. My person is simply a hardened struggle journalist. This is simply a feline who’s been successful and retired of warfare zones his full big life. He’s reported connected rumors, hearsay, and disinformation from the frontlines. I’ve written extensively astir disinformation campaigns and reported connected media manipulation, rumors, and however toxic fandoms twist the truth.

And present we some were 2 radical who knew better, talking astir a bullshit rumor we’d seen online.

It each seemed to commencement erstwhile a blue-check ex-White House staffer posted thing connected X.

“I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but you don’t privation to miss the DNC tonight,” they said successful a station that’s since been deleted. “If you thought Oprah was big, conscionable wait.”

Liberal radical online person felt large astir the DNC. It’s already been a normal afloat of amusive viral moments similar Lil John performing during Georgia’s rotation call, President Obama making a dick joke, and Oprah being, well, Oprah. It was plausible that the Democrats had thing other chaotic and amusive up their sleeve.

The 2 biggest possibilities I saw floating astir were Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. The Beyoncé rumor got other foodstuff erstwhile TMZ reported that it was, successful fact, happening. White House governmental manager Emmy Ruiz tweeted retired a bee emoji, a awesome associated with some Beyoncé and Kamala. Rolling Stone reported, credulously, that unit was preparing for Beyoncé’s arrival. Katie Phang, a writer astatine MSNBC tweeted a rumor that she’d heard Beyoncé was astatine the United Center.

When contacted by journalists, Beyoncé’s absorption denied it was happening. But that didn’t matter, the rumor was everyplace and everyone wanted to judge it. It was successful Reuters, CNN, The Hill, and dozens of different publications large and small.

But it didn’t happen.

“Beyoncé Frenzy Exposes These Giant Dem Influencers’ BS” declared the Daily Beast. And portion it’s existent that the rumor started among weird pockets of Democratic influencer internet, the occupation is us. We’re the ones who saw it, decided it was true, and dispersed it around. We’re each vectors for disinformation.

Angry Staffer apologized for posting the rumor Thursday nighttime aft Kamala Harris finished her acceptance speech.

“I’m not definite wherever it started, but the radical who told maine aren’t prone to hyperbole. FWIW, Beyoncé was the rumor. Makes maine consciousness a small amended that Reuters, TMZ, The Hill, and different outlets besides reported it, but either way—I apologize,” they said successful a station connected X. “Even radical astatine the DNC were proceeding that Beyoncé was successful the building, truthful whoever started the rumor got a full clump of us.”

Re: peculiar impermanent rumor – I’m not definite wherever it started, but the radical who told maine aren’t prone to hyperbole.

FWIW, Beyoncé was the rumor.

Makes maine consciousness a small amended that Rueters, TMZ, The Hill, and different outlets besides reported it, but either mode – I apologize.

I don’t… pic.twitter.com/1t0Emp6bQd

— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) August 23, 2024

It did indeed, and we shouldn’t enactment each the blasted connected Angry Staffer. They were conscionable telling america thing we were consenting to judge and we ran with it. We should retrieve this implicit the coming weeks and months.