Twitter‘s recognizable blue bird logo was replaced with the trending Doge meme in what appears to be a delayed April Fool’s joke.
Many expressed their astonishment on Twitter on Monday after discovering a Shiba Inu dog on Twitter’s homepage and loading screen in place of the blue bird logo.
In 2010, a picture of a dog became viral and later used as the logo for the well-known cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Elon Musk, the founder of Twitter, acknowledged the shift by posting a meme.
The reason behind the change is unclear, with some users speculating that it was an April Fool’s Day prank that wasn’t done on time as key employees had been laid off.
The timing of the change is still suspicious as it comes days after Musk petitioned a court in the US to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by Dogecoin investors for $258 billion over an alleged pyramid scheme.
The change also caused an instant boost the value of the memecoin. In just 30 minutes, Dogecoin prices increased by 30%.
Who or what is Doge?
Doge is a popular internet meme that consists of a picture of Kabosu, a Shiba Inu dog, accompanied by multicoloured text in Comic Sans font.
It became popular in 2010 and went on to be the face of the popular cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Last year, Musk was sued for $258 billion (£209 billion) for allegedly running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency.
In Friday’s hearing, Musk’s lawyers said the investors never explained how Musk intended to defraud anyone or what risks he concealed, and that his statements such as ‘Dogecoin Rulz’ and ‘no highs, no lows, only Doge’ were too vague to support a fraud claim.
‘There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion,’ Musk’s lawyers said. ‘This court should put a stop to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.’