Post format · Opinion posts
What people think vs what's true: real viral examples and how it's built
Mirrored pairs make the reader check which side they're on. 9 viral posts on X from 9 creators used this format between May and October 2026. Their median views were 67.2K, and their median reach 7.4 times the creator's follower count.
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Real examples
The 5 most viewed posts, one per creator.
Eze Kingsley Ohaji
@ohajielom
420.6Kviews
The smarter you are, the longer it may take you to become a profitable trader. The dumber you are, the faster it may take you to become a profitable trader. That statement sounds offensive until you understand what it actually means. Trading is one of the few professions where…
59.7K followers · Jul 11, 2026
skumm🧊
@skumWgmi
288Kviews
Gen Z doesn't want to come into the office. CORRECT. No one wants to commute 90 minutes round trip, pay $18 to park, buy a lunch they can't expense, sit under fluorescent lights for 9 hours performing productivity, then be told the problem with young people is they don't…
20K followers · May 2, 2026
Lior Pozin
@lior_pozin
269Kviews
What people think happens when you exit for $92M: - Your parents call it a big achievement - They call you a great son - You're happy What actually happens:
9.7K followers · Oct 6, 2026
David Cramer
@zeeg
185.7Kviews
vendor-specific chatbots are broken by design that means the Sentry agent, the Linear agent, and any others you might have in Slack they are fine for some point situations, they're nice to get started with, but agents with generalized access outperform them in every single…
35.2K followers · May 15, 2026
Brij Pandey
@LearnWithBrij
67.2Kviews
Learn Python. Learn JavaScript. Learn React. Learn Docker. Learn AWS. Learn Kubernetes. You finally feel confident. Then someone says, “I built the whole app with a prompt.” Welcome to being a developer.
4.5K followers · Oct 6, 2026 · Video
How it's built
Answer this first: What do most people get wrong about your topic? For example: “People think consistency means posting daily. It means posting on the same days.”. Then write one line or paragraph per bracket, in this order:
[What most people think or do] [What's actually true, or what the best do] [A few pairs, strongest first, then which side to be on]
The median viral post in this format was 234 characters long, and 1 of 9 had a photo or video. Use it to show how you think and grow your audience.
Formats like it
All formats, as fill-in outlines: tweet templates and LinkedIn post templates. What's going viral right now: this week on X.
Questions
What is the what people think vs what's true post format?
Mirrored pairs make the reader check which side they're on. It goes in this order: what most people think or do; then what's actually true, or what the best do; then a few pairs, strongest first, then which side to be on.
Does it work on LinkedIn as well as X?
Yes. The examples on this page are X posts, and the same shape works on LinkedIn: Postel's own list of LinkedIn openings that beat their creator's usual engagement includes one in this format. On LinkedIn, put the first beat in the first two lines, before "see more".
Where do these examples come from?
From Postel's library of individual creators on X. Each day, posts from the last two weeks by creators with at least 1,000 followers that have reached 5 times their follower count in views are checked once: a model sorts each by format, and a stronger model approves it as a clear example. 9 posts from May to October 2026 were tagged with this format; the page shows the most viewed one from each of up to five creators.
How do I write a post in this format in my own voice?
Answer one question first: What do most people get wrong about your topic? Then fill the template on this page with your answer, one beat at a time. In Postel, pick this format under Viral posts › Formats and it writes the post for X, LinkedIn or both from your answer, in the way you write (one AI credit per network).
I'm one of the examples. Can I have my post removed?
Yes. Send the post's link through the contact form at postel.app/contact and it comes off this page within a few days.