Yellow submarine GIF shoots to top choice in WhatsApp amid race to find missing Titanic sub

Social media users have been left puzzled by the top GIF when they try to message someone – a yellow submarine.  

WhatsApp and Tinder are among the platforms that feature the cute GIF of the underwater vessel as it swims in the deep sea surrounded by fish. 

‘Yellow Submarine’ was famously the name of the Beatles‘ jolly number one hit from 1966 and the cartoon film released a couple of years later. 

However, it’s thought the prominence of the submarine GIF has more to do with the ongoing Titanic rescue mission. 

One user suggested social media was being ‘shady’ by bumping the GIF to the top during the frantic attempts to find the five people aboard before they run out of oxygen – although GIF libraries tend to show them by popularity. 

The yellow submarine is the top GIF on WhatsApp (pictured) when people click on the GIF tab

On Twitter, the user posted a snap of the GIF as seen on Tinder with the words: ‘no tinder is shady bc why is the recommended GIF a submarine ?????’ 

The GIF also appears high on Facebook Messenger, but not on Twitter or Instagram, MailOnline has found. 

WhatsApp and Tinder both use one of the biggest GIF providers for its GIF library, Tenor, which is owned by Google. 

WhatsApp also uses another one called Giphy, but Tinder confirmed to MailOnline that it just uses Tenor. 

A Tinder spokesperson said the current trending GIFs on its platform are a ‘direct pull’ from Tenor, which also shows the yellow submarine at the top on its site. 

However, Giphy doesn’t appear to give the GIF any prominent spot on its site. 

According to one expert, GIF libraries tend to have the most-used GIFs at any one time at the top, or GIFs related to words in people’s messages. 

It’s likely social media users are sending the submarine GIF to each other, likely in reference to the missing Titanic sub. 

‘Similar to Google, Giphy operates as a search engine and utilises algorithms to determine the prioritisation of content within its search results,’ Carolyn White, social media account manager at Carrie-Ann Sudlow Consultancy, told MailOnline. 

‘I believe it’s appearing as GIFs that will be shown and suggested to users based on keywords that are being used in chats. 

One user posted a screenshot to Twitter with the words: ‘no tinder is shady bc why is the recommended GIF a submarine ?????’

‘As the missing Titanic tourist submarine is such a bizarre and constantly evolving news story, for platforms such as Twitter and WhatsApp. 

‘Although this specific GIF may not be being used, the spike in the submarine keyword being used on all messaging platforms is causing it to be bumped to the top.’ 

The word ‘submarine’ is also trending across Twitter, even though the missing vessel that descended to the Titanic wreck is a submersible. 

A submarine is an independent cruiser with its own power supply and air renewal system, while a submersible needs to be supported by a nearby surface vessel or shore team.