“Golden Girl” Betty White turned 95 Tuesday, but before the greetings came the terror: Why was she trending on Facebook and Twitter?
With only the name shown, many assumed the worst.
“Don’t trend Betty White’s name. People are dropping like flies. It makes me nervous,” said one comment.
“Betty White shouldn’t be allowed to trend… so many heart attacks,” said another.
While many vented, Scott Goode of Henrico, Virginia, acted — posting a petition on change.org calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to change its style of displaying trending topics.
WHEREAS, Facebook Trending has a large number of items that only have subjects; and
WHEREAS, Betty White is a national treasure; and
WHEREAS, Betty White is in her 95th year, now, therefore; be it
RESOLVED that any future trending headlines on Facebook’s start page regarding Betty White shall be held until a longer headline can be generated that explains why it is trending; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER that if no information regarding trending status is readily available, any tag including Betty White must include a statement reading “is not dead”; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER that this also applies to any other celebrity with a stature of Ms White’s who is over the age of 85.
White, who shares a birthday with Michelle Obama, tweeted her birthday as well.
No better way to kick off 95 than with a visit from my dear friend, @katiecouric. @YahooNews pic.twitter.com/6WOqpnjxoY
— Betty White (@BettyMWhite) January 17, 2017