Social media was abuzz with rumors on Thursday that there was going to be a big secret guest at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night and it appeared to be Beyoncé or even Taylor Swift.
There was no big surprise.
Former Obama administration official Brandon Friedman broke down what happened in a thread on X.
In case anyone still cares, here's a short thread on how an online rumor takes off:
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) August 23, 2024
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
He said the rumors started with a 12:28 p.m. CT tweet from @Angry_Staffer. The account has 600,000 followers and a blue check mark.
It said: "I've been sworn to secrecy, but you don't want to miss the DNC tonight. If you thought the Oprah surprise was big, just wait."
Less than 30 minutes later, another account with more than 100,000 followers posted that there was a "scheduled gap in tonight's DNC schedule that the special guest is only known by a handful of people." That post was also widely shared.
Then at 3:37 p.m., White House political director Emmy Ruiz tweeted an emoji of a bee, seeming as a reference to Beyoncé. That post got more than 2 million views.
But she later said it was an accident and her 6-year-old had accidentally tweeted the bee.
🐝
— Emmy Ruiz (@emmyruiz) August 22, 2024
The damage was already done with people like HuffPost deputy editor Phil Lewis amplifying the false rumor.
At 6:49 CT TMZ posted a report under the breathless headline: "Beyoncé performing at DNC's Final Night!!!"
The widely viewed site later issued a brief apology.
As the DNC went on, it became increasingly clear that the rumor was false. The biggest primetime musical guest was Pink, who sang a song with her 13-year-old daughter.
Later, @Angry_Staffer apologized and deleted the original tweet.
"Re: special guest rumor - I'm not sure where it started, but the people who told me aren't prone to hyperbole. FWIW, Beyonce was the rumor."
They went on to say, "I apologize."
Re: special guest rumor - I’m not sure where it started, but the people who told me aren’t prone to hyperbole.
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) August 23, 2024
FWIW, Beyoncé was the rumor.
Makes me feel a little better that Rueters, TMZ, The Hill, and other outlets also reported it, but either way - I apologize.
I don’t… pic.twitter.com/1t0Emp6bQd
