One Direction fans may be wallowing in premature heartbreak as rumours swirl that the boys will be taking a lengthy break next year, but not everyone is taking the news quite so seriously.
Rapper Professor Green kickstarted the "going different directions" laughs on Twitter with a joke about the irony of their name, while other less devoted followers feigned devastation and made puns using their song titles.
Radio 1 DJ Greg James asked whether he would have to come back from holiday to report on the news in a similar way to how Prime Minster David Cameron has to "when something big happens" and Daily Mirror columnist Ian Hyland quickly began predicting when reunion tours and reality TV show appearances would begin.
Here's our pick of the best worst 1D gags doing the rounds:
1d are splitting up?! I thought they were on some kind of space odyssey?
— Professor Green (@professorgreen) August 23, 2015
So there wasn’t only one direction after all
— Professor Green (@professorgreen) August 23, 2015
One direction go their separate ways - is this a paradox? Forgive me I left school in year 8.
— Professor Green (@professorgreen) August 23, 2015
One Direction are splitting up next March.
Which means the One Direction Reunion Tour starts in March 2019.
Book now!
— Ian Hyland (@HylandIan) August 23, 2015
Congratulations to Niall Horan!
King of the Jungle, I'm A Celebrity 2016.
— Ian Hyland (@HylandIan) August 23, 2015
I am not making any jokes about the One Direction split. That's what makes me beautiful.
— Chris Hewitt (@ChrisHewitt) August 23, 2015
You know when something big happens and David Cameron comes back from holiday...is it the same for R1 DJs if 1D split up? If so...annoyed.
— Greg James (@gregjames) August 23, 2015
Maybe the more hard-line members of One Direction will form splinter groups called The Real One Direction and Continuity One Direction.
— M'Mmnz (@Danny_McMoomins) August 24, 2015
If One Direction are splitting up, who'll get custody of the chord?
— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) August 24, 2015
I guess you could say the members of #One Direction ... have decided to go ... in a different ...
path
— Sammy Paul (@ICOEPR) August 23, 2015
Even I am above doing the "One Direction going in different directions joke", it's just not my Styles.
— Denham Sadler (@denhamsadler) August 24, 2015
One Direction's possible hiatus comes just months after Zayn Malik quit the group, which formed on The X Factor in 2010, to live life as a "normal" 22-year-old.
1D: Crazy things Directioners say
Malik recently signed a solo record deal and has been collaborating with Naughty Boy, while One Direction surprise released their latest music video for new single "Drag Me Down" last week.
It remains unknown what the remaining four members want to do with some time off, but starting work on solo projects is a strong probability.
One Direction are believed to have earned around £25 million each in the five years they have been together.
