No, Google will not be sunsetting Gmail, however should you’re one of many customers duped by the pretend information, you are not alone.
A false information launch made its approach round social media on Thursday after being posted to X (previously Twitter) and rapidly went viral.
“After years of connecting thousands and thousands worldwide, enabling seamless communication, and fostering numerous connections, the journey of Gmail is coming to an in depth,” the fake document reads, accompanied by the Google brand and commonplace Google doc formatting. “The choice to sundown Gmail has been made with cautious consideration of the evolving digital panorama and our dedication to offering high-quality, progressive options that meet the wants of our customers.”
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The publish said that Gmail is ending on August 1, 2024 and that as of that date, emails would not be capable to be despatched, acquired, or saved on the Gmail platform.
“After this date, Gmail accounts will develop into inaccessible,” the publish mentioned.
Naturally, X customers started to panic. Within the U.S., Gmail has a market share of 53%, per Forbes, and greater than 1.8 billion energetic customers ship and obtain an estimated 333 billion emails every day.
I do not know if the information about gmail is correct, however watch me go insane, sit down right now and begin the again up course of for my complete electronic mail account
— z (@bus_kerdou) February 23, 2024
That is insane, i spend my complete life with #Gmail https://t.co/xjxUg6cnOa pic.twitter.com/XhkOhxyMt0
— Alibek Aliev (@Itsalibek) February 22, 2024
Okay okay this cannot be true no approach. Google is sunsetting Gmail on August 1. You will nonetheless be capable to entry and obtain your emails till then, however after that they’re going to be gone. No extra Gmail! #RIPGmail ? pic.twitter.com/AwKWN9AnMJ
— XeVier (@XeVierTech) February 22, 2024
rip gmail so unhappy i cry ???? pic.twitter.com/1ixqqWKzFB
— Nate ? (@pxl0101) February 22, 2024
The unique pretend publish is believed to have come from Chris Bakke, a product lead for X, whose firm Laskie was acquired by then-Twitter in 2021.
In a publish on the platform, Bakke satirically joked that he was the SVP of Product at Google and that CEO Sundar Pichai had requested him to fireplace the “complete Google Gemini staff” however that he had misheard it because the “complete Google Gmail staff,” and thus created a pretend doc as part of his joke.
I am the SVP of Product at Google ($28.8M TC).
Final evening, Sundar requested me to “fireplace the complete Gemini staff.”
I misinterpret his message (insanely unhealthy service at my 7br 11bath cabin in Park Metropolis) and I by accident fired the complete Gmail staff.
Gmail…Gemini.
Take a look at that… pic.twitter.com/CBCWAhoNCT
— Chris Bakke (@ChrisJBakke) February 22, 2024
“Take a look at that rapidly with out your glasses if you’re 7 margaritas deep on the fireplace pit on a Wednesday, and also you’d make the identical error. I imply, you get how that is complicated proper,” he joked on the platform. “Anyway, I am rolling with the choice. Gmail’s gone.”
Bakke’s unique publish has since garnered over 2.2 million views.
The trolling got here simply hours after Google announced that it was pausing the discharge of its Gemini AI instrument after radical inaccuracies have been discovered when utilizing the text-to-image software program to render photographs of sure historic figures.
A neighborhood word has been positioned by X on Bakke’s publish informing customers that the doc is, in truth, a pretend.
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“It is a satirical publish which is being rapidly unfold round and is confused by many believing it’s actual,” the neighborhood word says. “It’s not. Google has not introduced any modifications to Gmail.”
Google additionally cleared the air in a publish on the corporate’s official account, noting that Gmail will not be going wherever.
Gmail is right here to remain.
— Gmail (@gmail) February 22, 2024