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Beach or door? Another meme is tearing the internet apart

Posted at 8:28 AM, Aug 31, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-31 09:30:22-04

It's been said that America is more divided now than ever before.

The country currently finds itself in two camps with little hope of bridging the ideological gap. Both sides seemingly have the same set of facts but have come to two completely different conclusions — the consequences of the post-truth world.

2018: The year of "alternative facts," where "truth isn't truth."

And all of this chaos seemingly stems from one person with a Twitter account: @rebeccareilly__, or "becky."

On Aug. 24, becky sent a tweet that would eventually garner more than 20,000 retweets and 34,000 likes as of Aug. 31. The tweet asked a simple question and had a single photo attached.

"Is this a door or a beach??? Hahahaha😖🙄" she wrote.

 

 

To some, the photo seemed to be that of a white sandy beach on a cloudless sunny day — but oriented sideways. Others saw a blue door set into a teal door frame next to a white plaster wall.

Twitter users have replied more than 500 times to becky's tweet — and that doesn't include the users who started their own threads by included her tweet in a tweet of their own.

As in any debate, proponents of each side took the opportunity to present their case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

becky herself took the time to poll Twitter. With more than a quarter million votes cast, 54 percent of respondents said they saw a door, while 46 percent said they saw a beach.

 

 

 *Note: The E.W. Scripps Company considers becky's poll an unscientific survey, and therefore cannot endorse the results.

On Aug. 27, becky responded to her own tweet, seemingly confirming the photo to be a beach.

 

 

But a forensic analysis of the photo seemingly debunks becky's claim. Twitter users noted that the pixels around the people seemed suspicious.

 

 

Was becky's follow-up tweet an earnest answer to her own question? Or was she further trying to divide a country already torn apart by The Dress, The Shoes and the Yanny/Laurel affair?

As of now, it's not clear. becky has not yet responded to a request for comment.

 

 

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.