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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Hannah Jane Parkinson

'Richard Dawkins does not exist' – why are Twitter users oddly vanishing?

Richard Dawkins
Author Richard Dawkins, who may not be smiling after Twitter told him he doesn’t exist. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Graeme Robertson

Apparently Richard Dawkins does not exist – which is awkward, given everything he says about God.

Dawkins is one of the latest Twitter users to have “disappeared”.

Although messages about people not existing on the social network are legitimate when users have deleted their accounts, recently there has been a spate of tweeters being erased. These disappearances – without warning – can cause sudden panic and in some cases existential crises.

This happened to me this month. The only reason I didn’t fret was that I had seen other people tweeting about it over the course of the past few weeks. A few minutes later, I reappeared. Phew.

Some users, however, have been alarmed. I imagine them spreading their hands out in front of them, checking flesh and bone:

Others have been dismayed that their profile picture has been replaced with an egg:

Some are very *nail painting emoji* about the entire thing:

But then there are those who are just emotional:

We contacted Twitter about those mysteriously vanishing, but so far the company is none the wiser, and has promised to investigate. We’re totally spooked by this – and it’s at least three months until Halloween.

Until we find out what’s happening, this is us:

Have you been disappeared? Let us know in the comments below

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