WASHINGTON (September 24, 2025)- Social media influencers have been spreading warnings and tips to prepare for an impending “rapture,” with reposts spreading on TikTok videos as well as Facebook groups including hundreds of thousands of members. According to the Washington Post, Google searches for “rapture” outpaced those for Taylor Swift on Tuesday morning.
Experts at the George Washington University are available to provide context and analysis on the spread of mis and disinformation. To speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at gwmedia
gwu [dot] edu (gwmedia[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Ethan Porter is an associate producer of Media and Public Affairs of Political Science at the George Washington University. He holds appointments in the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Political Science Department and is the Cluster Lead of the Misinformation/Disinformation Lab at GW's Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Political Communication and other journals.
Neil Johnson, a professor of physics at GW, has studied the origin and spread of internet misinformation. In a study published in 2022, Johnson focused specifically on the ways in which false content originates and spreads across social media platforms.
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