Duolingo, an app that teaches 43 languages, has always marketed its brand in very interesting ways, and on Feb. 11, it announced that its owl mascot Duo had died. No one saw this coming, and no one knew how to respond.

The Duolingo owl is not the innocent victim you might think he is. For many, Duo is an omen of anxiety and horror. Duo is known for the threatening messages he sends people when they forget to keep their streak on the app alive. Some people even began to rejoice after his death, saying they were finally free from his wrath. 

Additionally, Duolingo laid off about 10% of its contractors in January of 2024 and has increased the integration of AI into its business. According to Duolingo, the company did not lay off any full-time workers and tried to find some of these contractors jobs within the company before it let them go. From what we can see, Duolingo doesn’t seem to be a completely evil company, which is a relief as its headquarters are a staple of Pittsburgh, and it has a really fire taco restaurant next door. There is a push to integrate AI into business models because it saves money, but it saves money at the expense of employees. Although the layoffs may be minimal now, that does not mean they won’t be extensive in the future.  

The only reason they killed off Duo was to make money. Shortly after his death, the company said that if you practice enough, the world could bring Duo back from the dead. Every marketing strategy at any company obviously serves the purpose of making the company as much money as possible, and Duolingo is no different from the rest. It’s a little depressing to think that Duolingo’s marketing isn’t just for fun and that its intended purpose is instead to take all of your money, but it is the reality. 

Although it was just a marketing tactic, the death of Duo came at a very pivotal time in America, as Donald Trump’s inauguration was just under a month before it. Through wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a new presidency and natural disasters, there is a lot of chaos and uncertainty, and Duo’s death serves as a reflection of this scary new world that we’re trying to understand. Just like Duo, in January 2020, Mr. Peanut died, sacrificing his life to save his friends. That year, as we all remember, was also filled with a lot of uncertainty, and the deaths of these mascots seem to mark very important times in our country’s history. 

However, Duo didn’t die valiantly like Mr. Peanut. He was brutally plowed down by a shiny, ugly Tesla Cybertruck. By extension, Elon Musk murdered Duolingo’s mascot and a very influential icon. 

In real life, Musk and his billionaire friends have begun to creep into the United States government, slowly making their slimy way into positions that could very well hit the citizens of this country with a metaphorical Cybertruck. These privileged billionaires are sneaking into our personal lives through legislature and governmental power in an attempt to make more money for themselves. The oligarchy that they are slowly beginning to form within Trump’s presidency will likely destroy the United States if we are not aware of its danger. 

Shockingly, on February 24, 2025, Duo came back from the dead. Well, he was never actually dead. He faked his death for 13 days. Could this instead serve as a positive omen for the state of the world? If Duo was seemingly obliterated by a Tesla Cybertruck and then returned two weeks later, does that mean that we, too, can rise above Musk and his billionaire friends? Is there hope for us? Only time will tell.

Zion Schenk likes to write about politics, art and culture. Email her at [email protected]