There are over 300 million tweets sent from around the world every day. And millions more are search queries. Twitter is a source for news and conversations, so what is everyone talking about this week?
This week was a fairly heavy week for global Twitter trends… From Egyptian turmoil hitting an all-time-high, to young Malala Yousafzai being awarded for standing up against Pakistan’s Taliban and global acknowledgment of rising radiation – here’s what the world had to say:
#1: Egypt
After years of turmoil, this past Sunday marked arguably one of the worst clashes in Egypt yet, since the Egyptian army seized power. Sunday was the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur war with Israel, which is a significant day commemorated by most Egyptians. However, instead of joining in unified celebration, the opponents and supporters clashed over views on the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi. Marches filled highways in West Cairo and protests turned riots took place in Alexandria, Suez and other cities across Egypt. At least 51 people were killed in the clashes in Egyptian cities.
Since then, the US announced that they will no longer supply Egypt with aid. Withholding millions of dollars in mostly military aid to Egypt has fuelled a large anti-US sentiment and the perception that the US supports the ousted president Morsi. For all of these reasons, Egypt trended worldwide as public, news sources and frustrated Egyptians voiced their opinions.
#4: Rahul Gandhi
43-year-old Rahul Gandhi, descendant of India’s most famous political dynasty, has launched a campaign for next spring’s re-election of India’s ruling Congress party. India, the world’s most populous democracy, has half of its population under the age of 26 and with a higher proportion of them in the large, poor northern states. Rahul Gandhi has promised to bring in a “young government” and is attempting to reach 23 million potential first-time voters.
Targeting the poorest states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which has higher poverty levels than much of sub-Saharan Africa, Gandhi hopes to improve upon poverty (a common political theme). “In 2014, it will be a poor man’s government, a government of youths. We will empower every section of society. I am not scared and there is no one to scare us,” said Gandhi to a large rally this past week.
#5: Malala Yousafzai
16-year-old Pakistani school girl Malala Yousafzai is stirring up discussions around the globe. This week, European lawmakers awarded their top human rights prize (for those who stand up to oppressive powers) to Malala for her outspoken advocacy of girls’ education in Pakistan. She was also contender for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but did not win. “Malala bravely stands for the right of all children to be granted a fair education. This right for girls is far too commonly neglected,” said Martin Schulz, the president of the EU legislature on Thursday. In October 2012, the Taliban shot Malala in the head in an attempt to stop her advocacy. Rushed to an English hospital, Malala recovered and regained her strength to continue the fight.
Her recognition around the globe is not going unnoticed in Pakistan, however. Malala’s advocacy has stirred anti-Western sentiments in Pakistan and militants threaten to kill her if she returns home.
#6: The Voice Brasil
The Voice Brasil is a Brazilian reality talent show that, for whatever reason, has thousands of fans tweeting about it.
#7: Radiation
After 2011’s massive earthquake and tsunami hit Fukushima’s Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) nuclear plant, radiation levels have been rising. This past week, radiation levels in seawater outside of the damaged power plant spiked, hitting the highest levels in two years. In order to keep the damaged reactors cool, Tepco workers have been pouring hundreds of tonnes of water on it. While they struggle to contain the radioactive water, on Wednesday a worker mistakenly detached a pipe connected to a treatment system, which released seven tonnes of highly radioactive water.
The view from the other side of the Pacific Ocean doesn’t look so great either. As more and more articles pop up, its hard to deny that Fukushima’s radiation has reached the west coast of North America. And, although Japanese fish (and more and more Pacific fish) contain radioactive Cesium, fish exports continue to rise. While ignorance is bliss, this trend implies that people are ready to talk about the facts.
#9: Snowden
Bahnhof, a Swedish internet service provider that once hosted WikiLeaks, nominated NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for a Nobel Peace Prize. Likewise, he was up against Malala Yousafzai for the Andrei Sakharov Prize, which she won. Edward’s father told reporters this week in Moscow, during his first visit in Russia with his son, that he thinks Edward deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.
Check out what’s trending over in USA Twitter Trends this week.