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It has been a busy week on social media with news about the cast of F.R.I.E.N.D.S reuniting, to Kiku Sharda’s arrest dominating trends on all popular social networks. Also, Alan Rickman’s death played heavily on social media with fans and fellow actors paying tributes to the British actor.
Scroll down to rewind the past week’s top social media trends, talking points, viral videos and much more.
Viral vidoes of the week
In this video, which has so far amassed over 7 lakh views on Youtube, actress and model Kalki Koechlin sends out a powerful message to media and pop culture for its portrayal of women through a poem written and narrated by her. Titled ‘Printing Machine’, the video brilliantly highlights the repressive norms that exist in the society and how women are depicted in media.
A Facebook video showing a brilliantly casual morning commute of a Norwegian snowboarding enthusiast caught the eye of social media users. The video shows a man in a dressing gown sipping from a coffee mug and reading a book as he casually snowboards down a road. The video has been viewed nearly 2 million times on Facebook at the time of writing this report.
Twitter Trends
#BurningBengal: Malda violence
The violence-hit Malda district of West Bengal started surfacing on Twitter after several users, mostly aligned with the country’s right wing parties, tweeted criticism against the state CM Mamata Banerjee and the ruling party TMC for not containing the flare-up in the district.
The violence started in early January when members of a Muslim Organisation – Anjuman Ahle Sunnatul Jamaat (AJS) carried out a protest rally against Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari over his remarks against the Prophet Muhammad. While it had been been raging for a while, however, it took an ugly turn on Sunday, 10 January 2016, when a mob reportedly torched Kaliachak police station and over a dozen vehicles.
Users of Twitter slammed Mamata government of protecting the perpetrators and accused her of playing vote bank politics.
#KikuSharda: Users slam comedian’s arrest
Twitterati erupted in anger as the news about the arrest of Comedian Kiku Sharda came to light. It became a trending topic throughout Tuesday and Wednesday with citizens and artists condemning the detention of ‘Comedy Night’s with Kapil’ star on ‘bizzare’ charges.
The actor was arrest in Haryana for imitating self-styled religious godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh during a comedy show performance.
#MasoodAzhar: Pakistan detains suspected mastermind of the Pathankot attack.
On Wednesday, January 13 as the news about the arrest of the suspected mastermind of the Pathankot attack became public, hundreds of journalists, citizens and government officials took to twitter to celebrate the arrest of one of India’s most sought after terrorist. The topic started to trend briefly but continued to do the rounds on Twitter with many calling the arrest a diplomatic victory for PM Modi. The attack had cast shadow over the much awaited foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan. However, with Pakistan hardening its stance on JeM, we could witness a way forward this time.
#CharlieHebdo: Satirical magazine sparks online outrage for cartoon on Aylan Kurdi
French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, which had won an overwhelming support after the January 7, 2015 terrorist attacks, came under severe criticism this time for publishing a cartoon that critics say pushes its provocative brand of humor a bit too far.
The publication has sparked outrage for a cartoon that suggests drowned toddler Alan Kurdi - the 3-year-old Syrian boy whose death triggered a global wave of sympathy for refugees-- would have grown up to be a sexual molester of the type blamed for a recent wave of mob sex attacks in Cologne, Germany.
#OscarsSoWhite: Social media slams all-white Oscar nominations
The hashtag started trending worldwide following the Academy’s nominees announcement on Thursday. This after 88th annual Academy Awards released its 2016 nominees with only white actors making it to the nomination list in the acting categories. The selection caused an outcry with users questioning the diversity in Hollywood.
#AlanRickman: Fans reacts to actor’s passing.
Thousands of Fans of the late British actor Alan Rickman took to Twitter to share their sentiments and memories in the wake of the actor’s passing.
The British actor died in London at age 69, and garnered fans the world over with his diverse film and theater performances, ranging from roles in the “Harry Potter” films to “Die Hard.
#FilmfareAwards: Bollywood hosts annual award function.
Fans and film stars congratulate winning actors for stealing the limelight at the 61st Filmfare Awards held in Mumbai. Deepika won the Best actor in female category for her film ‘Piku’, while Ranveer won it for ‘Bajirao Mastani’.
Facebook Buzz
Facebook timelines were flooded with tributes for late British actor Alan Rickman with fans posting memes, videos of their favourite scenes from Harry Potter series. The other topics that surfaced on social networking site included news about the reunion of Friends cast and JeM chief Masood Azhar’s arrest in Pakistan with the former hogging more limelight.
Comedian Kiku Sharda’s arrest also featured prominently on Facebook as fans made mockery of the arrest. Several memes mocking Gurmeet Ram Rahim started doing rounds as well. A video (watch below) of Arnab Goswami’s nightly Newshour rant against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, emerged as the one of most shared videos of the week.
Top 3 Performers on Instagram
These are some of the most liked photos from our Instagram feed.
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