A Cosmic Girls’ fan joked that members Meng Mei Qi and Wu Xuan Yi were married lesbian billionaires, and people fell for it because it’s hard to distinguish between real and fake news onl the internet these days.
It all started after Abby Fry, a teenage fan of the South Korean-Chinese group, also known as WJSN, tweeted out breaking news that Meng and Wu were Chinese billionaires who tied the knot, “making them the richest couple alive”.
[BREAKING] Lesbian Chinese Billionaires, Meng Mei Qi and Wu Xuan Yi, marry. Making them the richest couple alive. pic.twitter.com/IEoMunC6s4
— abby (@merrymeiqi) April 26, 2017
The tweet quickly became viral, catching the attention of non-Kpop fans who did not recognize the girls before retweeting the post.
I welcome their rule. https://t.co/AUZb1ftohe
— Jenny Yang 👲👲👲 (@jennyyangtv) April 27, 2017
Things China did: THAT https://t.co/DcbEwZSnBD
— Kilgore (@alocalteen) April 27, 2017
@merrymeiqi @Nice_White_Lady Donald Trump’s head will explode if he finds out.
— Naomi Spellman (@SpellmanNaomi) April 28, 2017
Fry told BuzzFeed News that she thought of the joke because she believed “ujungs”, WJSN’s fan base, would find it hilarious, but did not anticipate it to spread like wildfire.
“I thought they looked like they were at a wedding with the dresses they were wearing and the dresses sure looked expensive,” she said.
Fry added that she thought users would fact-check first before retweeting, and that it “just shows the power of what we want to happen.”
According to Koreaboo, the post was shared on Lesbian Visibility Day on April 26, which probably explains why it became so viral.
Another Twitter user even went as far as writing a short fan fiction about the couple, racking up more than 29,000 retweets.
mei qi murdered her husband, married a girl,and became the richest gay couple alive she really did that pic.twitter.com/p8mzpW51xe
— 宇宙少女48🌠 (@uzzucam) April 27, 2017
However, it turns out that the photo of Meng and Wu was taken at the 2017 Beijing International Film Festival, and shared by fellow WJSN member Xuan Yi who posted it on to her Weibo page.
Ujungs apparently have been using this chance to try and promote their favorite K-pop group, but fans found it amusing.
wjsn: meiqi and xuanyi are chinese lesbian billionaires
chengxiao: i think we ALL are chinese lesbian billionaires pic.twitter.com/glqtWDdvNi— luisa 🐰 (@misswujuniverse) April 28, 2017
@muffinlordSA @merrymeiqi Yes they’re clearly getting married pic.twitter.com/5SzqsYpT0A
— Stan WJSN (@floweryflesh) April 27, 2017
good night i love the richest couple alive 🌙💸 pic.twitter.com/0wOUVRqhhZ
— av 🍙 (@greyjinsook) April 28, 2017
the chinese lesbians billionaire keeps getting rts i dont even stan wjsn but their fans are doing the most and succeeding 👏👏👏
— ｓａｒａ⊿ (@nyakutagawa) April 28, 2017
Billionaires Meng Mei Qi and Wu Xuan Yi would want you to BUY Cosmic Girls album. Do so if you support their marriage.
— sheguanada (@rootsmihyun) April 28, 2017
It’s been said a million times before but it bears repeating: Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
