On July 26, 2023, X (formerly Twitter) user @soren_iverson published an image positing that Spotify had blocked the playing of Christmas music until Nov. 24. "There's no need for Christmas in July," the image read. "We can notify you when this album becomes available to stream." The image indicated there were then two options to select from: "Dismiss" or "Notify Me." The album shown behind this notice was Michael Bublé's 2011 "Christmas (Deluxe Special Edition)."
(@soren_iverson/X)
The post received more than 8.1 million views and 125,000 likes since it was posted. "Mariah carey would be finished," one user commented.
More recently, a meme account on X, @weirddalle, posted the same image on Jan. 18, 2024. In less than 24 hours, the post had garnered more than 2.8 million views and 67,000 likes, as of this writing.
— no context memes (@weirddalle) January 18, 2024
The image was completely fabricated; it did not originate from Spotify. The creator of the image, Soren Iverson, posted the following statement:
I create satirical designs daily.
Obliterate that follow button for more ways to make sure you don’t hear I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas at Kohl’s in July.
According to a profile piece written on him for Business Insider in June 2023, Iverson is an L.A.-based product designer at Cash App.
He's designed similarly satirical images, such as Gmail offering an option to file a restraining order as a reply, ChatGPT referring you to a therapist when your questions get too personal, and Apple Health indicating if a friend is lying when mentioning being sick.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.