Is this the world’s oldest tweet? Viral X Japanese post shows impossible 1992 timestamp |

It’s been 20 years since Jack Dorsey (now co-founder of X) posted “Just set up my twttr”, the first news about what would become X twitter. As the platform’s first tweet, it represented the genesis of a service that would grow into a global hub for communications, news and public dialogue.Recently, however, a post went viral as a surprising “contender,” showing a date of September 2, 1992, sparking widespread discussion about how a tweet seemingly predates the platform itself.The post was shared by Eiko Kano (@kano9x), a famous Japanese comedian, singer and gaming personality. Known for his self-deprecating “Mr. Narcissist” persona, especially on shows like “Hearts of London,” Kano has gained a wide following on television, on his YouTube channel “EIKO! GO!,” and for his variety shows, which often center on what fans describe as “miraculous” antics.He has also expanded his influence into games and movies, hosting a special at Tokyo Game Show 2022 and appearing in films such as White Noise (2022).The tweet itself reads:“I came to Osaka (^^)v I have been working with Jaru Jaru-san for a while (#^^#)”He was referring to JARU-JARU, a famous Japanese comedy group formed in 2003, long after the date of the tweet. Known for their surreal and prolific sketches, they have appeared extensively on Japanese television and toured internationally, including shows in the UK and France.

“Is this the world’s oldest tweet?”

As the post went viral, one user asked Grok directly:“Hey @grok sanCould it be said that the oldest tweet in the world is this one by Kano Eikou? If there’s anything older than this, please let me know. “Gronk replied:“No it’s just an X display glitch showing the date September 2, 1992 lolThe actual oldest tweet is Jack Dorsey’s “just setup my twttr” (ID: 20, March 21, 2006). Nothing could be more ancient than this! “It further explains the error:“This is a display bug in X’s legacy timestamp handling. This tweet was actually posted on December 11, 2011 (~10:02 JST). Its Unix ms timestamp (1,323,565,370,000) is treated as a 32-bit unsigned integer, with overflow: mod 2^32 = 715,442,832. Interpreted as seconds, since 1970-01-01 is equivalent to September 2, 1992. “When asked if the issue would be resolved, Grok added:“I’m not part of the X engineering team, so I can’t say for sure when or if they’ll patch this particular timestamp display glitch (it’s decoded from the Snowflake ID in the 2011 tweet to 1992). With the viral attention it’s getting today, it’s probably going to get attention soon. Classic platform quirk!”

what happened

As it went viral, users began sharing finer details of the issue. According to the explanation, the tweet was originally posted on December 11, 2011, around 10:02:50 JST, and can still be verified using search queries such as:“From: kano9x From: 2011-12-11_10:02:50_JST To: 2011-12-11_10:02:51_JST”The explanation continues:The Unix timestamp in milliseconds is “1323565370000”The value is treated as a 32-bit unsigned integerIt overflows:1323565370000 mod 2^32 = 715442832The remainder, interpreted as the number of seconds since 1970, becomes:September 2, 1992 23:07:12 (Japan Standard Time)Despite the technical explanation, the unusual date has sparked a wave of more interesting explanations. So-called “time travel” theories have circulated in tongue-in-cheek fashion, with some users suggesting the tweet has traveled back in time or pointing to wider platform quirks such as media erasure prior to 2014, with some even claiming it was the Mandela Effect or Elon messing with timelines.

The history behind it is even longer

The incident also renewed attention on the platform’s origins. Just three days ago, it had been 20 years since the first tweet was posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), which now has around 330 million users posting monthly.The project was originally named “Twttr” and was inspired by Flickr and the five character limit of US SMS codes. Twitter was founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams as a side project of the podcast company Odeo. The idea grew out of a brainstorming session about a real-time SMS-based social networking platform that would allow users to share short status updates with friends in real time.By March 2006, a working prototype of Twttr was operational. Several alternative names were considered, including the now-infamous “FriendStalker,” but the team ultimately settled on Twitter. On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey, using the handle @jack, posted:“Just set up my twttr”This tweet ID 20 remains the first message in the platform’s history, a humble beginning that grew into a global phenomenon. The service initially imposed a 140-character limit, reflecting its SMS roots and forcing users to communicate in short and precise bursts.The platform, which launched publicly in July 2006, enables users to post and follow updates from others. A more complete version of the platform was presented at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2007. Soon after, Twitter, Inc. was officially incorporated amid a sudden surge of interest and investment that helped solidify its early growth.Twitter has grown rapidly over the years. The character limit was eventually expanded to 280, and a wide range of features were added to the platform, including trending topics, tags, replies, retweets, and media integration. It has grown from a simple status-sharing service into one of the world’s most influential news, public discourse and communication platforms, used by celebrities, companies, journalists and ordinary users.

A tweet is worth millions

That first tweet has taken on a life of its own. In 2021, Jack Dorsey sold his NFT version to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sina Estavi for $2.9 million.“This is more than just a tweet!” Estavi wrote at the time. “I think years from now people will realize the true value of this tweet, just like the Mona Lisa painting.”The sale was made through the Cent-owned Valuables platform and included a digitally signed certificate and metadata, although the tweet itself remains publicly visible.Since then, the platform has undergone significant changes. After being acquired by Elon Musk, Twitter was renamed X and integrated into the broader ecosystem related to xAI and SpaceX. It continues to remain influential, particularly in the tech and media communities, while facing competition from new platforms like Bluesky and Meta’s Threads.Despite all the speculation, that viral 1992 post didn’t rewrite the platform’s history. Both user analysis and Grok’s reply make it clear that the tweet is still from 2011 and is just displayed differently due to a timestamp issue.