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‘Where is Marcus?’: Internet panics about ‘missing child’, but here's the truth behind the viral trend

'I thought this tag was for a missing kid yall cant trend this s**t,' said a user

When a hashtag like #whereismarcus trends on social media, one tends to take notice and the first thing one might wonder is whether it's about a missing person. On August 4, businessman Marcus Lemonis tweeted: “Still looking! Can you help? The person who guesses what specific town this is in will win a new RV that they would pick up near this town at one of my @CampingWorld stores..I’ll provide clues..along the waaayyyy!! Must use #whereismarcus (if you know me personally you can’t win).” It was accompanied by a photo of a kid holding a placard, which read: A-693-3B-2 Mark J Fundy wanted for hateing Erir (sic).

On his subsequent tweets with the caption ‘clue’, he posted gifs: a cookie falling on an ice-cream, a monkey having a bowl of soup and that of a carnival. For the uninitiated, Lemonis is the CEO of Camping World, an American corporation specializing in selling recreational vehicles (RVs), recreational vehicle parts, and recreational vehicle service.

While it was clear that this was an attempt at marketing for the RV company, some Twitterati joined in and were confused if they were looking for a missing kid. One wrote: “y’all got me over here thinking a kid is missing smh  #whereismarcus.”

Another concurred, “Hey guys, im really confuses on if a kid is missing or its a joke? If someone can fill me in I’d appreciate it #whereismarcus.”

Another wrote: “#whereismarcus I don't know who the  f**k Marcus is, but where the hell is he? Is he missing or something? Who knows.”

Some called out the trend saying, “#whereismarcus i thought this tag was for a missing kid yall cant trend this shit.”

Another wrote: “#whereismarcus You got people looking at this like a small child is missing. Slightly nauseating stunt.”

Others tried to play along. One said, “#whereismarcus. He’s on a Ferris wheel he drove an RV to get there, he’s eating custard while sitting on the back of the stove and then finish it off with chocolate chips and a blizzard at DQ.”

Another wrote: “My guess is... Albuquerque, NM #whereismarcus @CampingWorld.”

A confident user said, “#whereismarcus Definitely Miami, but if you want to get specific, then it could be Coral Gables, Westchester, Princeton, Doral, Pinecrest, or Palmetto Bay.”

Recently, Lemonis was in the headlines because of a series of lawsuits filed against him. Gerard Fox Law, PC, a law firm, announced in June that a series of lawsuits have been filed against Lemonis “alleging fraud, misconduct, and misuse of power through deceptive business practices,” according to Business Wire. Lemonis’ former business partners, Nicolas Goureau and Stephanie Menkin, have alleged that the businessman dishonestly encouraged Goureau and Menkin to allow him to invest in their retail business, Courage B, in exchange for a capital investment and lent his expertise to help them grow their brand. However, instead of trying to grow the company, Lemonis focused on making the company indebted to him so that he could control the company and its assets, according to the report.

Currently, Lemonis is the chairman and CEO of Camping World, Good Sam Enterprises, Gander Outdoors and The House Boardshop, he is also associated with the CNBC reality show ‘The Profit’, a show about saving small businesses.