"His career is certainly dead": Shane Dawson dead trends as Twitter trolls drag YouTuber over death hoax
Popular YouTuber of yesteryear Shane Dawson made headlines recently after becoming the victim of a death hoax on Twitter.
The 32-year-old internet personality was subject to a trend on Twitter, where users used the phrase "Shane Dawson died" as bait to tack on another completely unrelated message.
"Shane Dawson dead" Twitter trend is false: How did the hoax begin?
As soon as the phrase "Shane Dawson died" began trending on Twitter, Keemstar posted a tweet with his own hypothesis. He stated that this was "K-pop spam."
This wasn't accurate. The phrase was used as a bait and switch, which is quite a popular type of meme format on the internet. Many anime fans used this meme format to segue into talking about something they deem more important.
Here are a few examples on Twitter:
The format caught on pretty quickly, with people constantly tweeting out the phrase "Shane Dawson died." It was a little bizarre that netizens didn't seem to care about the statement's factual accuracy.
While a good chunk of Twitter was propagating the harmful trend, other Twitter users called out the insensitive behavior exhibited by people on the platform. They claimed that joking about a person's death is simply unacceptable.
Here are a few users who called out the trend on Twitter:
Shane Dawson's public image took a beating over the years after his brand of comedy was labeled insensitive and anti-Semitic. From sexualizing an 11-year-old Willow Smith for the sake of a throwaway gag to reports of bestiality with cats and dogs, Shane Dawson hasn't been the ideal role model for the internet.
The YouTuber has disappeared from the platform following his apology video on June 17, 2020. He is yet to comment on the death hoax.
Also read: Adam Perkins' death: Vine star's passing at 24 shocks fans, Twitter pays tribute
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