• Duolingo shared some tragic news on social media
  • The app helps people learn more than 30 different languages
  • Tributes poured in from across the internet
Duolingo
Duolingo announced some sad news about Duo Credit: IMAGO/imagebroker/Logoxfactory

Duolingo shook the internet with some tragic news, and social media was shaken to its core.

They announced their owl mascot, Duo, had died via an unexpected statement on social media. No cause of death was revealed.

They wrote, “It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved mascot, Duo the Owl. For years, he tirelessly reminded millions to do their language lessons − sometimes with gentle nudges, sometimes with sheer, unhinged persistence. But even the most relentless of birds can only take so much.”

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“We’re aware he had many enemies,” Duolingo continued. “Tbh (to be honest), he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know.”

After suggesting those in mourning to sign up for their premium Duolingo Max option, they expressed gratitude in everyone “respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time,” a nod to the pop star whose name sounds very similar to the app.

What was said about the loss in the Duolingo family?

Many were able to concede that the beloved owl had the ability to ruffle feathers in their attempt to honour him.

Someone wrote, “Omg he was annoying but he didn’t deserve this… rip.”

A recent, notable way Duo had been a wind-up merchant was rubbing salt in any potential wounds that rapper Drake may have had post-Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time performance of Not Like Us.

The five-time Grammy-winning diss track sent the audience, both at home and in the stadium, wild.

“Rest in peace to this king in his last hour, he ended Drake,” someone said.

Read more: The best reactions to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime show

Someone joked that their grief forced them to lose their Duolingo streak.

“I missed my streak cos I had to mourn Duo’s death. May the owl RIP,” one person wrote.

Many pleaded with the language learning app to please pack it in.

One user urged them, “Stop this @duolingo.”

Companies even got into paying their respects to the owl. Like Netflix, who made a crude joke about the owl’s death and referred to their South Korean dystopian series Squid Game,

They posted, “duo the owl has been eliminated.”

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Clara Hill
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