The buzz all Thursday at the DNC was that Beyoncé, Taylor Swift or a similarly big act was set to appear. Here’s how the rumor spread.

CHICAGO — The buzz of the DNC all day Thursday was that Beyoncé or Taylor Swift — or maybe both — would give a surprise performance to close out the star-studded convention.

But — to the disappointment of many Chicagoans — it didn’t happen.

Rumors swirled across the internet all day, some thought the convention DJ was teasing by playing “Shake It Off” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” to hype up the crowd and there were apparently false Beyoncé sightings. Then The Hollywood Reporter threw cold water on the Beyoncé rumor about 9 p.m., reporting the superstar never was scheduled to attend or perform at the convention. The Sun-Times also confirmed the news, citing Beyoncé’s publicist on Instagram.

Instead, a packed DNC crowd got Leon Panetta, a former U.S. secretary of defense, director of the CIA, White House chief of staff and congressman, as well as all of the other regularly scheduled speakers. Singer Pink also performed her 2017 song “What About Us” with her daughter, Willow.

Fans at a Soldier Field watch party were let down.

When Leon Panetta took the stage, one fan said, “Why? On Night Four? Isn’t he more of a Night One?”

Another fan said, “All we’re gonna get is a Beyoncé song?”

Campaign strategist Joshua Rush joked that all the hype for a surprise guest could’ve been a ploy to get passive voters to watch the DNC.

If it was, it’s not entirely our fault we fell for it. Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom” is Vice President Kamala Harris’ official campaign song and has routinely been played at Harris campaign events. When Harris took the stage to formally accept the Democratic party’s nomination for president, “Freedom” was blasting through the United Center.

And news sources were sharing the rumor, too.

Former Obama administration official Brandon Friedman broke down the spread of the rumor, tracing its origins to a few paid blue-check accounts on X who hinted at a “big surprise” and “special guest” at the DNC to their hundreds of thousands of followers. The first said the surprise would be bigger than Oprah the night before.

Hours later, Emmy Ruiz, White House political director, tweeted a bee, which fans took as confirmation Beyoncé would appear. She later said her child had accidentally tweeted the bee.

The rumor kept spreading up the chain until TMZ reported Beyonce would appear, and the Wall Street Journal and others shared their confirmation. TMZ later recanted.

Other fans across social media reacted: