Backlash as celebrity clickbait goes viral for US votes
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 19, 2018 at 01:37
- Updated on October 19, 2018 at 13:35
- 3 min read
- By Marisha GOLDHAMER
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“It’s official...Kim Kardashian finally decided to divorce Kanye West,” read the social media posts featuring photos of the celebrity couple.
The posts originated with a tweet by Ashlee Marie Preston, who is the first transgender candidate for California state legislature. Preston hyped the possible “Kimye” divorce, but the link in the tweet takes people to vote.gov, an official website of the US government, rather than a story on the reality television star and her rapper husband.
A day later, hundreds of Facebook posts and tweets with the same link were shared.
The trend also spawned a viral post with promised news about the breakup of singer Ariana Grande and comedian Pete Davidson and one claiming boy band One Direction was getting back together. Both link to vote.org.
On October 18, the hoax-like set-up reached new levels of exposure when Elle Magazine, whose official Twitter account has 6.8 million followers, joined in on the trend.
The US magazine used a similar Kardashian divorce clickbait headline to lead to a website offering advice on how to register to vote from the non-profit, nonpartisan organizations When We All Vote and Rock The Vote. When We All Vote has the backing of former first lady Michelle Obama and celebrities including Tom Hanks and Tim McGraw. Neither of the non-profits responded to AFP when asked about the Elle Magazine tweet.
While the comments on Preston’s tweet were surprised, but largely positive, Elle Magazine faced more negative feedback, including people who found the tweet patronizing and others who raised concerns about the possible impact on media trust.
Four hours after the tweet first appeared, Elle Magazine responded to the criticism by removing a related Instagram post and writing on Twitter, “We made a bad joke. Our passion for voter registration clouded our judgement and we are sincerely sorry.”
There is no evidence that Kardashian West and West plan to divorce. They have been visiting Uganda ahead of the release of West’s new album.
Representatives for Kardashian West did not respond when AFP asked for comment on this get-out-the-vote effort, but on October 9, the social media influencer did encourage her 59.4 million Twitter followers to “use your voice, register now.”
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