Hope Newton scrolled through social media, munching on snacks, and saw the internet still ablaze over the news that Noah had supposedly died—though by now, someone had clarified that he wasn’t dead, just severely injured and unconscious.

The rest of the trending topics were all about the Spring Festival Gala and the holiday travel rush. Same old, same old—boring.

Then her eye caught a trending tag buried at the very bottom of the list:

#KairoJetMissing#

Hope clicked it. The post came from Kairo Jet’s friend, saying simply, “My friend Kairo Jet is missing.”

Comments, likes, and shares were minimal. Clearly, this trend had been bought and artificially boosted. Whether it...