Jeff Bezos is the planet's wealthiest man, and his death would be pretty big news. As the hashtag #RIPJeffBezos recently circulated on social media, some people started to wonder if the Amazon CEO had actually passed away. Actually, that's not the case, but it didn't stop users from spreading the hoax far and wide. Jeff's alive and well, but the hashtag for him is like this.
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How did the #RIPJeffBezos hashtag start?
The curiosity being met with mainly just laughter has undoubtedly helped make this joke a trending subject. The thing that really holds it, though, is people intentionally posting poor obituaries.
After a few Twitter users agreed to spread the hoax, the rumor that Jeff had died was apparently launched. This hoax was like another quite similar phenomenon, alleging that Ellen DeGeneres had died suddenly. In that case, many netizens claimed Jeff died in the Amazon River in a drowning accident. It would certainly be an amusing way to get the CEO off.
View this post on InstagramLuna, it was time... A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) on May 19, 2020 at 3:55pm PDT
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What did users say with the hashtag?
The fun ultimately comes down to tweets involving #RIPJeffBezos, some kind of fake mourning post, and a picture of a bald person (or thing) that obviously isn't Jeff Bezos. Some users had played along when it started to spread, while others wondered when the hashtag first appeared on their feeds.
"I'm literally sobbing. first ellen now jeff. I can't believe he drowned in the amazon river. he didn't deserve this. ok maybe he did," one user wrote.
During the wake of Amazon CEO's "death," other users imagined what the future would look like. Another tweet claimed Jeff Bezos wrote everybody on earth's name in his will. "We will all be getting $25.57," the tweet added.
One posted a Pitbull image accompanied by a heartfelt message reminiscent of Bezos, as the two shares shaved heads full. There were other users for every joke tweet about Jeff 's death who were disappointed that the phenomenon had become too prevalent.
Jeff Bezos after seeing #ripjeffbezos trending on twitter: pic.twitter.com/vdiCUK1ynh — Sushil Pratap Sen (@SushilPratapSen) July 8, 2020
The hashtag has a Fight Club-esque, unchallenged "first rule," meaning people seem reluctant to address anybody who asks why #RIPJeffBezos is trending. The hashtag has the bonus fun of irritated people being out of the loop. Another user wondered in frustration how did the hashtag go viral on Twitter.
In reality, the Amazon CEO got quite a bit of love from users once the hoax was discovered. Naturally, the users who adopted the hashtag to debunk it also allowed it to spread across the internet more widely.
So, now it's a joke within a joke. A large portion of posts that use the hashtag are jokes about the hashtag's randomness itself. Bezos has yet to respond to his untimely passing news, but in two days or less, expect to hear a response.
