In this photo illustration, the Elon Musk’s twitter account seen displayed on a mobile phone screen with a Dogecoin logo in the background. (Photo Illustration by Idrees Abbas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Who let the Doge out?
Users logging onto Twitter caught sight of a new face — or rather, a lack of a familiar one— on April 3 when the social platform’s iconic mascot appeared to be replaced. Instead of the bright blue silhouette of a bird, users were welcomed by the official logo of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, a derpy-looking Shiba Inu.
TODAY.com reached out to Twitter for information about the change, which was not formally unannounced, but has not heard back.
“There is a little dog at the top of my Twitter...” one user wrote in a tweet shared to the platform early Monday afternoon. “He looks guilty...”
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
“Does anyone else see the #doge as the Twitter logo?” asked another user, who shared an image of his profile with the icon change.
“Now our comments will become barks instead of tweets,” one user posted in response.
As some noted, not all were able to see the swap immediately. Others speculated whether the change was related to April Fools’ Day, which occurred two days prior on April 1.
It’s unsure as to whether or not the switch to Doge is temporary. Some have speculated that the change might be an indicator that Twitter's current owner, Elon Musk, could be having yet another ruff day related to disgruntled workers or a recent lawsuit against him concerning the cryptocurrency.
According to Reuters, in June 2022, a Dogecoin investor filed a lawsuit against Musk for $258 billion on racketeering charges. The lawsuit accused Musk and his companies, Tesla Inc and SpaceX, of promoting Dogecoin and driving up its prices, only to let its prices crash two years later.
“Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading,” the complaint claimed. “Musk used his pedestal as world’s richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.”
CNBC reported that on March 31, Musk asked a U.S. judge to throw out the lawsuit, calling it a “fanciful work of fiction.”
Twitter, which was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, has faced upheaval in the past six months since being purchased by Musk, who is now the company’s chief executive officer.
Musk acquired the company in October 2022 for an exorbitant $44 billion. He announced big changes within hours of becoming the platform’s owner, which included the laying off of Twitter’s then-CEO, CFO and general counsel.
Soon after, Musk announced potential changes to the app, including the limitation of free speech, the removal of a ban on former President Donald Trump and a “revamped” verification process. In response, public figures such as Whoopi Goldberg, Elton John, and Erik Larsen revealed their decision to depart from the platform altogether.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
