Donald Trump Jr led the charge on Twitter Tuesday night after Rachel Maddow's much-hyped reveal of Donald Trump's tax documents proved underwhelming to many.

The MSNBC host had been given documents by an investigative journalist, who had himself received them from an anonymous source.

But over the course of an hour, and despite much speculation about Trump taking money from Turkey, Russia and organized crime, the documents revealed little that was terribly exciting.

Donald Trump Jr immediately took to Twitter, crowing 'Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid 40mm in taxes.'

In fact, his dad paid $38 million. But that was by the by as a cavalcade of mockery rolled Maddow's way, courtesy of Twitter pranksters.

Rachel Maddow promised exciting revelations about Donald Trump's tax returns, but the results disappointed many, who poked fun at her online

After the show Donald Trump Jr said that Maddow was 'proving' that his father is 'successful'. Maddow later argued the point was to question how Trump got his money, and from whom

Donald Jr kept mocking Maddow over the 'scandal'. Documents showed Trump made $253m, wrote off $103m as losses and paid $31.3m in income tax, plus another $5.7m in payroll taxes

The loyal son kept up his Twitter barrage through the night, and was soon followed by many other Trump supporters

This user thought Maddow's 'revelations' were a big joke. There was speculation that he may have leaked the documents himself to distract from massive Medicaid cuts

Maddow was likened to a lot of unfortunate characters on Twitter - including doomed and bullied psychic teenager Carrie

Many users likened Maddow's hour-long show to Geraldo Rivera's 1986 two-hour special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults.

He spent most of the two hours speculating what might be inside a concreted-over vault, with forensic experts on hand in case bodies were found, only to break it open and find it empty but for a few bottles.

Maddow tried to spin the two pages of documents as raising questions about where Trump got his money from.

And there were some notable details - such as the fact that most of the $38 million he paid was due to a form of tax he actually wants to ban.

Without that he would have an income tax rate of just 3.5 per cent.

But the disappointment was palpable online, among both Republicans and Democrats - the latter including Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani, though he later commended her 'bada** reporting.

Even some Trump critics joined in, such as Democrat voter Silicon Valley stay Kumail Nanjiani - although he later tweeted that Maddow was 'bada**' for her reporting

This Twitter user said Maddow had 'jumped the shark' - ie. peaked in her career - by putting her head on The Fonz from the famously awful Happy Days episode that the phrase emerged from

Another user coined the term 'Trumped' to describe Maddow's humiliation online - and borrowed an old Batman and Robin meme to do so

Was Vladimir Putin connected to Trump? Maddow said the two pages of documents that she had didn't prove anything - leading to this Twitter user's hopeful X-Files reference

Many users likened Maddow to Geraldo Rivera, who in 1986 hosted a two-hour special that promised to open up Al Capone's secret vault - only to find it virtually empty

Geraldo even started trending for a period, along with Al Capone, as Maddow parodies rolled in online

Commentators on other channels were critical of the MSNBC report, which they said lacked substance, had been rushed out for ratings and distracted from other issues

Another user - referring to Maddow as 'Madcow' - took the phrase 'eating crow' rather literally. She argued on TV that the documents raised questions about where he got the cash from

Responding to Donald Jr's first tweet on The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell - the show that followed her own on MSNBC's schedules - Maddow said the point of the tax returns was not about how much Trump made.

Rather, she said, it was important to know how he made it, and whether he might have compromised America in doing so.

Some Democrats had also speculated that the disappointing documents were leaked by Trump himself, in order to distract from his Medicaid just.

Later on Tuesday, during MSNBC's 11th Hour With Brian Williams, it was noted that the documents came from a lucrative year for Trump that would portray his business acumen in a strong light - and did not show where the money came from.

Earlier, in Maddow's show, Johnston had speculated that Trump might have leaked the documents himself, saying he had leaked information many times before 'when it was in his interest'.

Some of the antics even spread to other journalists, as this person joked about White House correspondent April D Ryan apparently thinking Trump's income was the same as his net worth

And this user noted how Brian Fallon, former press secretary for Hillary Clinton, had switched tack from thinking the revelations were 'the holy grail' to saying they were a distraction

Even before the episode finished, Twitter users were mocking the slow pacing of the show, which saw Maddow spinning out the contents of the documents for a full hour

Michael Rosenberg joked that it would take an entire year for Maddow to actually 'reveal' anything about the tax return