Duo is Dead

Christopher Lambert

Staff Writer

Duo, the Duolingo owl, has died. Investigators are speculating on the cause of the murder and Duolingo claims that he had many enemies that could have done this.

Duolingo is an app and website that helps users to learn new languages. Users describe Duo as intimidating, as he asks them to complete their lessons in a threatening tone. Duo has become an internet sensation with countless memes being made about him. He has been known to respond with comical tweets to other famous X accounts, like sports teams and celebrities.

On February 11th, Duolingo announced the death of Duo on Twitter. The company stated, “Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know. We are aware he had many enemies, but we kindly ask that you refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments. If you feel inclined to share, please also include your credit card number so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory.”

This is a satire post, and this is a new marketing strategy that Duolingo is employing. Along with that statement, Duolingo posted a poorly, yet comically, edited video of a Tesla Cybertruck hitting Duo in a parking lot and Duo exploding. A person was in a Duo mascot costume in the video, and it shows Duo with “X”s over his eyes flying through space and appearing to go to “hell.” CBS news reports that this could be similar to what happened with Planters’ Mr. Peanut as a new rebranding strategy.

Will Duolingo bring back Duo as a new form? Duolingo users will have to see what happens with the beloved mascot of the language app.