Chinese President Xi Jinping became one of the top trending topics on Twitter amid unsubstantiated reports he is under house arrest and that China is in the midst of a military coup. Xi and the phrase #ChinaCoup trended on social media after tens of thousands of users spread unconfirmed rumors that the president was detained and overthrown by China's People's Liberation Army.
This theory, which has not been supported by any credible sources, emerged as a result of Saturday's sparse business aviation above Beijing's capital city and unconfirmed reports that all trains and buses are also being canceled out of Beijing. Although the website for Beijing Capital Airport indicates that some departures from China's capital have been canceled, many more flights are still scheduled or have already landed. There have also been reports that the fights were postponed because of an intentional navy exercise.