Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson saving two puppies from drowning in a pool will be the most popular story on the internet today. It won't be the most popular story because it's 100 percent true — Johnson has a track record of fibbing on social media. It won't be the most popular story because the event — more than all events across the planet — warrants such attention. It will be the most popular story on the internet, because it's the least offensive, most joyous, and easily sharable thing we have — even if it's just self-promotion.
The photo is more powerful than the sum of its parts: it features Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, one of the most broadly loved celebrities on Earth; Johnson is wearing a wet T-shirt, revealing his muscles; he is smiling; the photo also features not one, but two puppies; those puppies are French bulldogs, a popular breed among the Instagram set; and the photo is accompanied by a hero's tale.
I look at this photo, and I see a man who learned his most valuable lesson in his years as a pro wrestler: fact or fiction, people won't care if you give them a good show.
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