An image of a tweet by the "SpongeBob Squarepants" official account recently made the rounds on social media, fueling rumors that the Nickelodeon cartoon was ending on March 1. However, it was discovered that the tweet is fake, and the show is actually scheduled to release new episodes in 2019.
A look at the official "SpongeBob" Twitter page revealed that there is no such tweet. It is likely that the "tweet" that went viral was a photoshopped image made to look as though the cancellation was official.
This is also not the first time that rumors of the show's demise went viral. Images bearing similarly false rumors also went viral in 2013, claiming that the show was set to end in January 2014. These rumors even prompted a social media campaign, with fans of the show including the hashtag "#SaveSpongeBob" in their posts.
This prompted Nickelodeon to respond to fans on social media, telling them that the show was actually coming out with new episodes and that there was even a new "SpongeBob Squarepants" movie.
A similar thing happened again in 2016, when an image announcing that the show was ending in October 2016 circulated on the Internet as well. However, Nickelodeon released the show's 10th season that same month.
The iconic cartoon has been on air since its premiere on May 1, 1999, and it seems that its end is nowhere in sight, at least for the next couple of years. There was an announcement last year that Nickelodeon has renewed the series for a 12th season, ordering 26 more episodes of the animated show.
Season 12 of "SpongeBob Squarepants" is scheduled to premiere in 2019, the year that marks the show's 20th anniversary. Nickelodeon is also set to release the third "SpongeBob Squarepants" movie that same year. Thus, it is clear that Nickelodeon is not planning on saying goodbye to "SpongeBob Squarepants" anytime soon, and certainly not as soon as March 1.
Even though Nickelodeon has not seemed to address the false rumor directly, the network tweeted about its 2019 plans for "SpongeBob Squarepants" on Feb. 25.
#BreakingNews New episodes of @SpongeBob coming your way! The hit series has been renewed through season 12, celebrates its 20th anniversary next year, and even has its own Broadway show!" data-caption="null" data-credit="null">
