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How did Terry Pratchett tweet after his death?

  • Published
    12 March 2015
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Terry PratchettImage source, Getty Images
By BBC Trending
What's popular and why

Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died aged 66 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Sir Terry, best known for the Discworld series, wrote more than 70 books over his lengthy career.

Many have picked up on the fact that Pratchett's Twitter account actually tweeted a link to a press release announcing his death, external. In fact, shortly after the author's death, four messages appeared, one after the other, creating a short-short story. The last tweet said, appropriately, "The End."

tweetsImage source, Twitter

So how did these tweets appear after the novelist had died? They weren't scheduled - as some have suggested, external - but rather were posted by Pratchett's assistant Rob Wilkins shortly after his death, the author's literary agent told BBC Trending.

Blog by Ravin Sampat

More from BBC Trending: The princess and the homeless Vogue reader

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You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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