New Snapchat update: Fake Twitter post promising design will be reversed becomes one of site's most popular ever

People around the world are hoping the site will roll back its controversial change – but it won't

A billboard displays the logo of Snapchat above Times Square in New York March 12, 2015 (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

A fake post promising the new Snapchat will be reversed is now one of Twitter's most popular updates ever.

The post isn't real, and the update won't be reversed. But the popularity shows just how reviled the new version of Snapchat has become.

The tweet claims that if enough people share it, Snapchat will roll back its highly controversial changes. It has now been shared by more than 1.5 million people – making it the fifth most retweeted post ever on Twitter.

The original post claimed that Snapchat had assured the tweeter, named Isaac Svobodny, that if his tweet got 50,000 retweets the update would be rolled back. The tweet has easily gone through that target, suggesting that if true the redesign would be rolled back.

"The Snapchat update sucks. RT to save a life!" he wrote when he shared it. The picture in the post is fake, and Snapchat never sent such a message.

The tweet is only beaten by four other posts. Three of those are from celebrities – Ellen DeGeneres, Louis Tomlinson and Barack Obama – and another is the famous post of a man asking for retweets so that he would get free chicken nuggets.

As well as being fake, the promise that the company will roll back its new update is not real either. Snapchat has committed to keeping the update – assuring users that they'll probably get used to it, and telling investors that it will make more money than the old design.

"“Updates as big as this one can take a little getting used to, but we hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in," Snapchat said in a statement.

That's despite clear anger among Snapchat's users. As well as the hugely popular post, more than a million people have signed a petition asking Snapchat to roll back the changes, but the company has also made clear it won't fulfil those signatories' request either.

Snapchat's redesign was intended to highlight brands and publishers on the app, as well as make more clear the division between friends and celebrities. It was also intended as a way of getting rid of the app's old and often confusing platform, and making it more simple for new users.

It's still possible to revert to the old version of the app, for now. But doing so could be dangerous, and security experts have advised users to avoid the tips and tricks circulating online to get rid of the new update.