Busted: The Viral Rumor of Pop Star Emojis for iOS 18.5 Debunked

Summary

A recent viral post on X (formerly known as Twitter) claimed that Apple would be releasing emojis of major pop stars in iOS 18.5. The post, from a parody account called 'DropPop,' quickly gained traction but is entirely fake. Here are the key points:

• False Claim: A parody account named @DropPopNet posted an image of eight emoji-style icons representing famous female pop stars, claiming they would be added to iOS 18.5.
• Viral Reception: The post has been viewed 41.6 million times, with 110,000 likes and 3,600 comments.
• Parody Account: @DropPopNet is a known parody account that shares spoof news, which many users overlooked.
• Emoji Process: New emojis are typically introduced through developer betas and decided by the Unicode Consortium, not Apple alone.
• Unicode Guidelines: The Unicode Consortium has strict rules against including specific people as emojis, whether fictional or real.
• Genmoji: While users can create custom emoji-like images using Genmoji, it’s a complex process that requires significant effort and doesn't involve pop stars directly.

The viral post is a clear example of misinformation spreading rapidly on social media.