Twitter
Howard University student Taiwan Jones went viral after someone tweeted that he failed his midterm exam. Getty Images

When Howard University student Taiwan Jones failed his midterm, the internet went crazy to find him. Even though he emerged Thursday, some netizens were skeptical the account was authentic. As people discussed Jones failing his midterm and whether his account was real, his name became a top-trending Twitter topic Friday.

It all started with Twitter user @Old_Orleans. “This professor graded tests next to me the whole flight. If there’s a Taiwan Jones at Howard, boy you failed the f--- out ya midterm,” he tweeted Thursday. “I just feel bad cuz lil buddy finna enjoy his weekend just come back to class, life in shambles.”

The message garnered more than 168,000 likes —and the search for Jones was on after the Twitter user created the #FindTaiwan hashtag.

The search was over when the student retweeted the midterm post and just used an ellipses. “So... i just found out i failed my midterms but also went viral on the internet and i don’t know how to feel,” the “real” Jones tweeted. “Considering I failed my mid term, I feel like I should drop out and pursue the career of a sound cloud rapper.”

Considering he likely failed his midterm, Jones didn’t seem to enjoy the attention as much as @Old_Orleans, who simply goes by the name Roy.

“Bruh this did more numbers than I expected lmao, I was just chillin on my flight,” he wrote. “I'm finally seeing the power of twitter lmaoo. This is crazy.”

The Twitter search had more than 45,000 mentions by 11:00 a.m. Friday. But not everyone was convinced which Taiwan Jones account was real. Many tweeted fake account were claiming to be the student. Some of those messages have been shared below:

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella