‘Succession’ fans are furious after the LA Times spoiled a major plot twist. How can we avoid spoilers online?

Some unlucky fans of HBO’s hit series “Succession” were furious after their Sunday viewing of the latest episode was ruined by the LA Times spoiling a major plot twist.

As people made their fury heard over social media, the debate soon turned toward the nature of media in the digital age — and whether avoiding spoilers is even possible on the internet.

The LA Times featured Sunday’s twist in its own article, timed to run right as the episode aired that night. As the spoiler was featured prominently in the headline, scores of fans said they saw the news before hitting the moment in the show.

The internet outcry only served to spread the news further, spawning posts from Twitter users spoiled by others’ complaints of being spoiled. As social media plays a larger and larger role in our lives, is even it possible to stay unspoiled online?

How to avoid spoilers online

There’s really no way to guarantee a spoiler-free existence online without fully disconnecting, but there are some measures that can help.

First, it’s worth going through your social media to filter out potential spoilers. On Twitter, you can mute posts containing specific words, for example, by clicking “more” on the side menu and selecting “Settings and privacy.” From there, go to “Muted words” and hit the plus icon to enter the word or hashtag you want to see blocked — like “Succession,” for instance, or a character’s name.

Similarly, on Youtube and TikTok, users can tell the algorithm they wish to see fewer videos on a specific topic. For Youtube, click the three dots beside a video and select the option “not interested.” On TikTok, long press the video and tap the “not interested” icon. Do this enough for both apps and their algorithms will stop showing you videos on the subject you wish to avoid.

If you’re on Chrome, there also exist extensions like Spoiler Protection or Unspoiler that block headlines and social media posts containing certain keywords.

It may also be a good idea to mute your notifications across social medias, at least until you’ve caught up with that movie, game or show. But as images, mispelled words or video spoilers can still sneak past, the best solution may be to watch that content as soon as you can — or simply stay offline as much as possible.

How was ‘Succession’ spoiled?

The following contains major spoilers, for those who’ve caught up on the show or don’t much care about it.

In season four, episode three of “Succession,” Logan Roy, the show’s main character, abruptly dies.

It was a jaw-dropping moment somewhat diminished by the Times running a fake obituary for the fictional character, featuring the headline: “Logan Roy, conservative media mogul who shaped contemporary politics, dies at 84.”

“Roy died Sunday while traveling to Sweden aboard a company jet,” the Times reported. “He was 84, we think.”

While the article was mostly met with backlash from bitter fans, it was also praised for its innovation. “The LA Times putting out an actual obituary for Logan Roy is truly iconic,” tweeted New York Post reporter Brooke Steinberg.

Meanwhile, NBC’s Kalhan Rosenblatt has called it an “incredible feat of entertainment reporting”

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