HBO Max subscribers were caught off guard Thursday night when they got a new email from the streaming service.
The email, which came at 6:48 p.m. MT, had the subject line:
- “Integration Test Email #1”
And the body of the email? It also had one line:
- “This template is used by integration tests only.”
This simple email — clearly a glitch in the system — sparked a worldwide phenomenon on social media, creating a trending hashtag and an instant social media meme. And there were so many questions about why this email was sent and what it really means for HBO Max subscribers.
HBO Max reveals the real reason for Integration Test Email #1
So we know the answer to the Integration Test Email #1. Apparently, it came from an intern. No, really. Take HBO Max’s word for it:
“We mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening. We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in, yes, it was the intern. No, really. And we’re helping them through it.”
Integration Test Email #1 became a meme on Twitter
So yes, clearly Twitter had a lot of fun with Integration Test Email #1. Twitter spawned off a number of jokes and memes about the email, joking about HBO Max and this supposed intern all at once. The jokes were also pointed at HBO Max subscribers, who many believe to be rich (because of HBO Max’s subscription price). I can confirm that I — who subscribes to HBO Max — am not rich at all.