Three fishhooks posted on Instagram today informed New Zealanders of the nationally significant news that the prime minister was pregnant.
Digital news media quickly latched onto the post and spread the word to the masses, and thereafter came an official email confirming the news.
Notably, the televised press conference that would have previously led and informed the news cycle came over an hour after the initial peak of the hype. By that time, the major news providers had already published numerous takes on a moment that brings Mark Richardson's greatest fears to light.
Make no mistake, this was a strategic move by Ardern. She's had months to think about how to announce the news to the public and decided to shuffle the media dominoes and put social media first.