Fact Check

Was It Possible to 'Double Like' Tweets in August 2023?

Some social media users believed it was just a deceiving method used to get more likes.

Published Aug. 15, 2023

 ( Getty Images)
Image courtesy of Getty Images
Claim:
In August 2023, it was possible to "double-like" a tweet to show extra appreciation for it.

Since July 2023, Twitter's future had been a persistent topic of discussion after Elon Musk announced that the platform would be rebranded as "X." A month later, various tweets went viral, claiming that Twitter released a new feature that enabled users to "double-like" a post to show appreciation for it.

"I fell for your trap," one social media user commented on a post that featured a video allegedly proving you could double-like a tweet. 

But we found no information about a "double-like" feature, either on Twitter's Help Center subpage "How to like a Tweet," or on any reputable news website. Twitter's instruction on how to like a post in mid-August 2023 read:

Click or tap the like icon and it will turn red, confirming that you've liked the Tweet.

(Twitter Help Center Screenshot)

To confirm it, we tried double tapping the tweets on Twitter ourselves. At first, the like button/heart turned red, and then the liking process was simply undone on the second tap. Moreover, we found reports from 2022 about the same Twitter feature that could allegedly be enabled in Twitter setting's "accessibility" section. We opened that section on Twitter's website and found no information confirming that such a feature existed.

(Twitter app)

Given that Twitter's official website provided no information on an alleged "double like" feature, we have rated this claim as "False." Spreading such false claims could be a way for social media users to gain more interactions, as some users could be mis-clicking the like button, or in repeatedly trying to enable the feature inadvertently liking a tweet. 

We have previously debunked a similar false rumor that claimed Twitter's like button in the shape of a heart turned into the company's new "X" logo when pressed. We also fact-checked another claim about Twitter's rebranding that claimed a "tweet" was now a "xeet." 

Sources

Accessibility. https://help.twitter.com/en/resources/accessibility. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

How to like a Tweet. https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/liking-tweets-and-moments. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. "Are Tweets Now Called 'Xeets'?" Snopes, 25 July 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/xeet-twitter/.

---. "Is Elon Musk Rebranding Twitter as 'X'?" Snopes, 24 July 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/elon-musk-rebranding-twitter/.

Wrona, Aleksandra. "Does Twitter's 'Like' Button Become an 'X' When You Press It?" Snopes, 26 July 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/twitter-like-button/.

Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw area.

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