The "Bikini Bridge" is said to be the latest "thinspo" or thinsporation/thinspiration (pictures of really thin women that girls with anorexia or bulimia use as their goals to become thin) craze among the weight obsessed after the 2013 "thigh gap" trend. But, is it really the newest fad for body conscious individuals? Or, is it a mere hoax?

First, what is a "bikini bridge"? According to Buzz Feed, a "bikini bridge" is seen when a woman who wears a bikini is so thin and bony that her hip bones lift up the front of her bikini bottom. It causes a space between the lower abdomen and the bikini. Click HERE and HERE to see pics of the "bikini bridge."

Apparently, this trend involves taking a photo of your "bikini bridge" while lying on a sandy beach or by the pool wearing a bikini. Then, the pics are uploaded to social networking and image sharing sites like Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest as well as social networking and microblogging sites like Twitter and Facebook. The hashtag #bikinibridge is usually seen with the posted pictures.

At first glance, it is a very alarming trend that promotes unhealthy and unrealistic body ideals and goals. This kind of "thinspo" fad is being blamed for the rise of anorexia and bulimia among weight conscious people, particularly young girls.

But, as it turns out, it's not really a trend. It was just a hoax thought up by some 4chan users that went viral. 4chan is an image sharing Web site similar to Instagram, Tumblr or Pinterest. The "bikini bridge" hoax reportedly involved two phases which aimed to make the "bikini bridge" the next big thing and to ultimately have a lot of supporters or followers in social media sites.

Phase 1:

"The premise is simple. Create propaganda parading the "bikini bridge" to be the best big thing... Circulate it throughout the Internet. Simultaneously, we create reverse propaganda, denouncing the bikini bridge as an unhealthy obsession. This, too, we circulate through the Internet. Our mission during phase 1 is to garner support for these social outlets. The more followers/subscribers the better," states Phase 1 of the plan to promote "bikini bridge" everywhere in the BuzzFeed report.

Phase 2:

"After a fair amount of circulation has been accomplished, we circulate the images throughout parts of the Internet know to be biased on the subject of weight (i.e. thin privilege, fat shaming, etc.). This should cause large enough of a stir to snowball into a fairly big subject," states Phase 2 of the plan to promote "bikini bridge" everywhere in the BuzzFeed report.

BuzzFeed was even "victimized" because its un-moderated community section was used by the people who wanted to make "bikini bridge" viral. A list called the "12 Perks of Having a Bikini Bridge" was posted in it. BuzzFeed has reportedly removed the said list already.

And, a CNN iReport page was also made by these pranksters to make it seem real. According to BuzzFeed, the CNN iReport page has been deleted as well.

Check out a "bikini bridge" Twitter account and some of its tweets below:

To anyone looking for a boyfriend this summer #bikinibridge #summer2014 pic.twitter.com/GU9rT3Hx10

— Bikini Bridge (@bikini_bridge) January 5, 2014

@BikiniGirls69 in love with your account hunny <3 pic.twitter.com/pD8wQTDXHM — Bikini Bridge (@bikini_bridge) January 5, 2014

Here's a reaction from Twitter user @GETTINGinSHAPEx:

#bikinibridge ladies and gents. A Newly found obsession that is ridiculous and stupid. pic.twitter.com/OLfx9eIsV1

— Fit Is Sexy ♥ (@GETTINGinSHAPEx) January 11, 2014

Thankfully, the "bikini bridge" trend is just a hoax from some 4chan users. It's not really the latest "thinspo" craze among the weight obsessed after the 2013 "thigh gap" trend. However, because of the lengths that they went to just to make this "bikini bridge" trend like crazy and go viral is still unsettling. It looked real and a lot of people fell for it. Hopefully, the word will get out that this isn't true and what started out as a hoax will not turn into the real deal after all.

  • READ MORE:

Australian Plus-Sized Model Robyn Lawley Condemns 'Thigh Gap' Trend In Fashion (Click HERE)