INDEX

#Centcom hack: Sleuths and wags react

BBC Trending What's popular and why 22:44 UK time, Monday, 12 January 2015

The hacked Twitter page of US Central Command.

It wasn't exactly Pearl Harbor. In fact, it wasn't even on a par with the attack on Sony Pictures servers by hackers allegedly affiliated with North Korea, which spilled gigabytes of sensitive corporate information across the internet.

Still, as BBC technology reporter Dave Lee points out, the hijacking of US Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts by individuals purporting to be part of the "CyberCaliphate" was an embarrassment for the US government - particularly coming at the exact time US President Barack Obama was giving a speech about the importance of cybersecurity. Centcom, after all, oversees US military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.

"This was always intended to be a PR coup rather than a technical one," Lee writes.

Given that the story centres around social media, Twitter was a rich source of quick-hitting commentary on the attack - with more than 80,000 #Centcom mentions since the story broke, many in the form of digital head-shaking and tut-tutting.

"Could someone please reassure me that Centcom doesn't control our nukes?" asks Breitbart's John Nolte.

Gawker's Adam Weinstein notes that the "information" tweeted from the hacked accounts were all in the public domain.

"America, tremble before Isis's unstoppable power to share boring-ass unclassified Powerpoint slides recovered in a daring Google search," he tweets.

Others found cause for concern, however.

"The story isn't that the people who took over CentCom's Twitter posted public addresses," writes conservative commentator Drew McCoy. "It's that those addresses were already public."

Piers Morgan was among those who found it rather unsettling that it took so long for Twitter to suspend the hijacked account.

"Account 'suspended'. Took 39 minutes," he tweets. "Hope U.S. Central Command is a bit quicker when it really matters, jeez."

But was the hack even the work of Islamic militants? As a number of Twitter sleuths point out, while "ISIS" was plastered all over the fraudulent tweets, it's an acronym that the real Islamic State abhors.

A Twitter account affiliated with the hacker group Anonymous said that it had traced the Centcom hacker to a computer located in the US state of Maryland.

"At this point, they're either really smart or we're dealing with a 17-year-old who can barely spell 'I love u ISIS'," the tweeter added.

Anonymous wasn't the first to speculate that the hack could be the work of mischievous teenagers.

"Suspected something wasn't Hoyle when 'ISIS' demanded a Miata, X-Men comic number 1 & a lifetime subscription to Playboy," tweets Julian Sanchez.

Meanwhile Weekly Standard writer John Noonan shares a bit of perspective: "In related news, Centcom dropped some 5,000 bombs on IS in the past week, destroying over 3,000 targets."

Evidence that the sword is still mightier than the tweet.

Blog by Anthony Zurcher

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Birmingham reacts to 'Muslim-only' gaffe

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 22:19 UK time, Monday, 12 January 2015

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

#FoxNewsFacts: Birmingham reacts to 'Muslim-only city' gaffe

It is fair to say that American terrorism commentator Steven Emerson knows a lot more about the city of Birmingham now.

After describing Britain's second city as a "Muslim-only city" where non-Muslims "don't go", the denizens of the Twittersphere - and Birmingham itself - set him straight.

His comments came in for ridicule, with the hashtag #FoxNewsFacts trending on Twitter.

Mr Emerson, who founded a group called The Investigative Project on Terrorism, later issued an apology for his "terrible error".

Reporting by Rajini Vaidyanathan. Produced by the BBC's Franz Strasser.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

Want to watch more Trending videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

Frosty response to Murdoch Muslim tweet

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 17:08 UK time, Monday, 12 January 2015

Are all Muslims responsible for the "growing jihadist cancer"? That's what a tweet by Rupert Murdoch seemed to argue - and so the debate began.

Online, a great deal of the response to the Australian-American News Corp chief executive was anger. His tweet last week suggested that even peaceful Muslims must "recognise and destroy their growing jihadist cancer" and that until they did they "must be held responsible". He had posted this in the wake of the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in France.

Many were upset. Several on Twitter - including lots of Australians - apologised for Mr Murdoch and claimed responsibility for incidents perpetrated by people from their respective countries or faiths. "As a conservative white Australian, I sincerely apologise for Rupert Murdoch. #JeSuisEverybodyNewsCorpAttacks," one tweet read. "Rupert Murdoch thinks all Muslims should apologise for terrorism. So on behalf of white people I'd like to apologise for Rupert Murdoch," wrote novelist Matt Haig. "Most Ruperts are reasonable people, but until they stand up to and apologise for @rupertmurdoch they must all be held responsible," joked another user.

The anger was with the idea that all Muslims are "responsible" rather than a minority. There has been a growing conversation on social media about whether "moderate" Muslims on social media are under pressure to openly condemn jihadist attacks. BBC Trending in September reported on #MuslimApologies, the hashtag that came about in response to the anti-Islamic State campaign #NotinMyName. Among the prominent voices to join the backlash against Mr Murdoch is author JK Rowling, "I was born Christian. If that makes Rupert Murdoch my responsibility, I'll auto-excommunicate." Her tweet has been shared and marked as favourite more than 20,000 times. (Mr Murdoch's original tweet received one-fifth of the response at the time of filing this report).

Others however felt that the debate initiated by Mr Murdoch was a reasonable one. One Twitter user said that he did not often agree with the mogul, but that his post was "spot on this time". "It's up to right thinking Muslims to actively stamp out this disease," he added. "Current status: Self-defensive Islam apologists disagreeing with Rupert Murdoch. Intel reports around the world agreeing with him," another tweet read.

The lack of consensus is also reflected in an ongoing survey about the tweet conducted by polling company YouGov. The website said that currently 42% of those who participated in the poll agreed with Mr Murdoch's tweet, while 45% disagreed.

The latest hashtag taking on Rupert Murdoch is #RupertsFault, which was first used on Sunday by an American comedian born to Indian Muslim parents, Aziz Ansari. Ansari posted a series of angry posts accusing Mr Murdoch of "back pedalling" after the mogul tweeted praise for the Muslim police officer Ahmed Merabat who died during the Charlie Hebdo attack. "You are Catholic, why are you not hunting paedophiles? #RupertsFault," he tweeted. "Rups can we get a step by step guide? How can my 60 year old parents in NC help destroy terrorist groups? Plz advise," he said in response to Mr Murdoch's tweet.

More than 15,000 tweets have since been posted using the hashtag #RupertsFault, blaming Murdoch for everything from the ban on gay marriages to the Kardarshians.

Reporting by Samiha Nettikkara

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

#BBCtrending radio: Facing the Taliban in Pakistan

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:56 UK time, Monday, 12 January 2015

Women protest against the Taliban in Lahore, Pakistan

Civil society protests in Pakistan

Listen to BBC Trending's latest programme or download the podcast.

BBC Trending reports here on this blog, but we're also on the BBC World Service. Every week we cover the latest in social media on our radio programme, exploring what's viral and why.

This week we're talking about showing 'face' as we take a look at two of the latest online video trends. In Pakistan, people are uploading videos to call out Taliban sympathisers and protest against religious extremism in the country. Meanwhile, in China, the traditional alcohol Baijiu has become the focus of a drinking challenge trend, but it's come under fire for being dangerous and disrespectful.

Presented by Mukul Devichand and produced by India Rakusen.

You can put us in your pocket and listen anytime by downloading our free podcast. We're on BBC World Service radio at 10:30 GMT on Saturdays.

#KillAllMuslims hashtag: Your reaction

BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:08 UK time, Monday, 12 January 2015

Infographic tweet which says #KillAllMuslims hashtag had about 100,000 tweets

Our tweet on the issue had nearly 800 retweets

Last week we wrote about one of the more shocking Twitter hashtags to take off after the Charlie Hebdo attacks - #KillAllMuslims (which has been tweeted about 100,000 times) - but the hashtag's popularity was not all it seems.

As we revealed, the trend was really propelled by tweets by Muslims and others against the violent message. Nearly all of the most retweeted messages using #killallmuslims were actually criticising the sentiment. Our blog on the hashtag had many responses from around the world, with many outraged the hashtag was trending at all - which is what we expected to happen.

People have no heart who really want to #KillAllMuslims

But what was interesting was how Muslims and others ended up having a debates online, using our blog post as a point of departure. It began with Muslims who said their faith was being misunderstood. "Here in Pakistan our army is fighting against terrorist, we don't even call them Muslims so don't blame Muslims" one tweet read "We Muslims believe in humanity first" wrote another tweeter, "We don't see people as a religion but humanity! #peaceplease". But others were skeptical. "Sounds nice but it's not what we can see here in Europa. We believe in love and understanding" was one tweet in response.

Paris Attack in tweets

#JeSuisCharlie - 5.2 million
#CharlieHebdo - 6.5 million
RespectForMuslims - 470,000
#KillAllMuslims - 126,000

One reader rightly pointed out that the hashtag #RespectAllMuslims, was the No 1 Trending hashtag in the world, ahead of #KillAllMuslims. The hashtag has had nearly 500,000 tweets since last Wednesday.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

'Calling out the Taliban'

BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:17 UK time, Sunday, 11 January 2015

A picture of activist Jibran Nasir holding a placard

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

In the wake of a deadly attack on children, ordinary Pakistanis are joining an online movement.

Has the killing of over 130 schoolchildren in Peshawar been a turning point in Pakistan?

That's what a new trend on Facebook seems to suggest. In a country where it is dangerous to confront extremism, ordinary Pakistanis are showing their faces and posting videos calling for the arrest of a controversial Islamic cleric, who played no role in the attacks but who is known for his sympathy with the Taliban.

Reporting by Mukul Devichand

Video journalist: Alvaro A. Ricciardelli

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

Want to watch more Trending videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

Would you unfriend someone for their politics?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 00:33 UK time, Sunday, 11 January 2015

Can you really click away a political movement?

Protests against an anti-immigration movement are spilling from Germany's streets to social media with bloggers calling for people to unfriend Facebook contacts if they "like" the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida) movement.

“Start Quote

They think, 'hey, we're just normal people with family and friends' but that's not actually the case, and maybe they will see that if they start to lose connections.”

End Quote Politics teacher Marina Weisband

Blogger Marc Ehrich has promoted a tool that allows you to check whether someone has liked a Facebook page.

"In April I saw some guys sharing these individual links on their timeline so I thought I would write about it," he said.

"I wanted to provoke a little and start some interesting discussions. At first it was just a list with some music bands that I thought would be funny or amusing for people to find out about, and then I added the anti-euro party AfD and the neo-Nazi NPD party.

"Of course I wouldn't say to someone, 'hey unfriend this guy because he likes [the singer] Helene Fischer.' But when it comes to AfD and NPD I wanted people to really think about the likes of their friends."

In December he tweaked the tool to include a Pegida checker because he was annoyed with their supporters.

The blog post immediately went viral. Despite the prominent "unfriend me" title at the top of the page, he says the tool wasn't only meant to be used to drop contacts. But he's unremorseful if that's what people choose to do.

"I heard arguments like, 'Hey, I am following Pegida because I want to be informed.' My answer to that is Facebook 'likes' are a kind of currency. The more likes a site has, the more attention it gets, but you can follow without liking."

Pegida marches in Dresden have attracted thousands of supporters

The discreet nature of unfriending means it's hard to measure how widespread this trend actually is, but the idea does seem to be taking off.

"The unfriending campaign is pretty big here, I think everybody's aware of it," said Berlin-based social media writer Torsten Muller.

"I'm not sure it will achieve very much beyond stopping people with different views from talking, but maybe it has raised awareness that there are many people who feel strongly against Pegida."

Munster-based politics teacher Marina Weisband saw the unfriending blog appear several times in her newsfeed and clicked the link. It turned out she only had one Pegida-liking friend.

"He was an old school mate, who joined the police force straight from school I think," she said.

"I didn't try to engage him in conversation because he's not a close friend. If he was I might have tried to talk to him, but he wasn't so ..."

Would you unfriend someone for their political beliefs?

Some 56,000 #Pegida tweets were sent v 9,000 #NoPegida tweets over three days this week

Marina's Pegida unfriending thread

Would you unfriend someone for their politics?

She's fully aware of the downsides of unfriending people with alternative viewpoints, namely narrowing the conversation and removing the chance for them to be influenced by more moderate views. But for her, the personal connection wasn't there to justify angsting over.

"Pegida is a sensitive topic, but I do think it's important for people to see they don't come from the centre and their views aren't widely accepted. They probably think, 'hey, we're just normal people with family and friends' but that's not actually the case, and maybe they will see that if they start to lose connections."

Marina wasn't the only one to respond to the unfriending call.

"I have [deleted friends] in self defence, because I caught myself in very unpleasant discussions with him or his 'friends'," one of her friends Ralph Pache said in response to her unfriending thread.

Not everyone is convinced by the strategy though.

German social media campaign Mit Dir picture wall

One campaign group started a more inclusive social media campaign this week in an effort to demonstrate the multi-cultural nature of German society

Christoph Schott is Germany's head of e-campaigns at Avaaz, a global civic organisation that promotes activism. He says the divisive nature of the unfriending campaign worries him.

"I feel like it's not the right way to go about things. Pegida is making a big split in Germany and at hard times like this, with what is happening with Charlie Hebdo in France, we don't want to be divided here, we need to face these threats together.

"We exist both online and offline, so we can protest on the street and on social media. Unfriending is just one social media campaign but there have been online petitions too.

"At Avaaz we've just started Mit Dir to show how united and colourful we are."

The idea is for Germans to upload pictures and memes and also post photos of themselves in Germany with someone from another country, race or religion.

"Amid this political storm, we're trying to create a love storm," Schott says.

"The question of how you resolve this split appearing in our society is a big issue for us but we can only solve it together," he adds.

Blog by Sitala Peek

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Trends of the week - in 60 seconds

BBC Trending What's popular and why 22:02 UK time, Saturday, 10 January 2015

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Our quick-fire roundup of this week's trends.

A thread on Reddit lists US customs considered strange or pointless by non-Americans, and Venezuelans post pictures of empty supermarket shelves as a form of protest amid shortage problems.

These, and more social media trends of the week, in our 60-second round-up.

Produced by Samiha Nettikkara and India Rakusen

Video credits: APTN

Picture credits: Getty Images, ThinkStock, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf

You can hear more from the BBC Trending team on BBC World Service every Saturday at 10:30 GMT, and you can subscribe to the free podcast here.

Want to watch more Trending videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

French forces get US Twitter respect

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 00:09 UK time, Saturday, 10 January 2015

In the run-up to the Iraq War, many restaurants rebranded America's favourite side dish as "Freedom Fries"

In the US, France has long been something of a punchline.

"French" is shorthand for a sort of urbane, effete sensibility that stands in stark relief to how many Americans like to picture themselves - brash, rugged, and rural.

In 2003, after France opposed America's plans to invade Iraq, the Congressional cafeteria even renamed their chips "freedom fries", a term that was adopted in restaurants across the country.

But after gunman involved in two separate hostage situations were killed by French special forces, Americans on Twitter have a newfound admiration for their French counterparts.

"Seems like awfully impressive work by French security forces," says Vox writer Matt Yglesias, while Boston Globe columnist Michael Cohen was more succinct. "French Special Forces > Russian Special Forces," he said.

Others were questioning the familiar tropes.

"So will Congress go back to calling them French fries now?" wrote political scientist Daniel Drezner. (The joke is on him, as the menu changed back in 2006.)

And remember that line about "surrender monkeys" that has come to be a favourite of those disparaging the French? New York Times Columnist Ross Douthat says it's time for a re-think.

"Seems like the phrase people are looking for is 'cheese-eating ruthlessly efficient badasses.'" he quipped.

Tech investor Martin Green is not surprised: "The French are well known for culture, fashion, and food but they also have very good special forces troopers," he wrote.

But will these elite commandos become as iconic as the the baguette and the Champs-Elysees?

Maybe not. But it seems that Americans are beginning to realise to see that high culture and high-precision military might aren't mutually exclusive.

Reported by Kate Dailey and Paul Blake

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

The Saudis who say a liberal blogger 'deserves to be lashed'

BBC Trending What's popular and why 17:43 UK time, Friday, 09 January 2015

Thousands of Saudis took to Twitter to share their reaction to news of prominent Saudi blogger and activist Raif Badawi getting flogged by authorities in Jeddah on Friday for "insulting Islam."

Two Arabic hashtags that translate to "Raif Badawi's public lashing" and " lashing Raif Badawi" trended in Saudi Arabia with more than 250,000 tweets after news of carrying out the first round of lashes on Badawi was announced.

Badawi was arrested in June 2012 and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes after being charged with offences ranging from cybercrime to disobeying his father and insulting Islam on his "Saudi Liberal Network" website - which is now offline.

The punishment has been condemned by the US and human rights organizations. But the online conversation is far less united on the matter.

Saudi Arabia adheres to a strict interpretation of Islamic law and it is still taboo to have open discussions about religion. Apostasy - renouncing Islam - carries the death penalty, and in 2008 Badawi was arrested and accused of that crime (although he was later released). So it came as little surprise to Saudis that the authorities would carry out the lashing.

"He established a network to spread apostasy and to offend religion and the prophet's verses and some people cry for him, I say he deserves more than this," one Saudi twitter user commented.

But there were many who expressed their anger and dismay at the sentence, especially at a time when Saudi Arabia is battling with extreme fundamentalism.

"It's religious extremism that deserves punishment because it's what brought us the Islamic State and not liberalism which fights extremism" commented another Saudi on Twitter.

And while #JeSuisCharlie trended worldwide after the Charlie Hebdo attack, some of those who support Badawi started #JeSuisRaif to raise awareness about his case.

Maryam Namazie tweeted "All those tweeting #JeSuisCharlie should also tweet #JeSuisRaif. @raif_badawi sentenced to 10 years prison & 1000 lashes. Saudi Govt STOP".

Badawi's wife, Ensaf Haider, who is currently living in Canada, said she was hoping the authorities wouldn't carry out the sentence.

"I've been in shock since hearing the news yesterday. My husband doesn't deserve this," she told BBC Trending.

But Haider was less surprised with the reactions online.

"I found supporting messages from around the world more than I did from Saudi Arabia. I suppose people are scared of the authorities," she said.

Elham Manea, an associate professor of politics at Zurich University, believes that there could be a possible number of reasons why the punishment was carried out.

"It could be because Saudi Arabia wants to show that it will not submit to international pressure," said Manea, who has been campaigning for Badawi's release. "It could also be about an internal struggle and rivalry inside the ruling family."

"But I'd say the most likely possibility is that the ruling family needs the support of the religious establishment against the tides of Arab Spring and dissident voices inside the kingdom, so this is what they are offering in exchange for their support," said Manea.

Both Manea and Haider are sceptical about the authorities responding to international pressure.

"I hope that our efforts to try to free Badawi will succeed but I cannot tell if Saudi Arabia will feel it needs to respond to international pressure now that it sees itself as vital ally in the fight against terrorism," Manea said.

Blog by Mai Noman

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Irish famine comedy: Your reaction

BBC Trending What's popular and why 11:53 UK time, Friday, 09 January 2015

Illustration of a woman with starving child in Irish potato famine

Misery loves comedy: could the Great Famine ever be funny?

This week we wrote about the uproar over plans by British television network Channel 4 to commission a comedy script about the Irish famine.

Dubbed 'Shameless in famine Ireland' some people weren't too impressed with the notion that one of Ireland's greatest travesties could be the backdrop for a telly giggle.

As expected, the blog generated lots of comments from people saying that the idea was "not funny" and that there were "some sick idiots in the arts today."

But there were also plenty of people who defended the concept and pointed out that it would not be like reinventing the wheel. Well-known British and American comedies like Black Adder, 'Allo 'Allo and Hogan's Heroes were cited as examples where comedy was "a useful way to tell a story and convey pathos."

Some readers even shared jokes about the famine: "well if it's only potatoes you do pay the price for being a fussy eater."

There was also a mix of tweets in the Irish language, which thanks to the Irish contingent of our team we have responded to "as Ghaeilge" (in other words, "in Irish"). And the Irish comedian Dara O Briain (no less!) got entangled in this discussion with Twitter user @CromwellStuff over claims that we're "overpaid idiots at the BBC". O Briain politely deflected a request to produce his birth certificate in order to prove his Irishness, and made it clear where he stood on the possible sitcom.

"It isn't even written yet, so not feeling very outraged," he tweeted.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Why are Venezuelans posting pictures of empty shelves?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 02:30 UK time, Friday, 09 January 2015

Picture taken by Luis Perdomo in Puerto Cabello

Thousands of Venezuelans have been posting pictures of empty supermarket shelves online - but what is driving the trend?

Shortages of basic products are not new in Venezuela. For the past couple of years, there have been intermittent shortages, mostly outside the capital Caracas. To get everything on their weekly shopping list, Venezuelans have to scout around - and sometimes make do without. In a deeply divided country there's no agreement on why these shortages are happening - with the opposition blaming the government controls and the government citing a conspiracy by the rich against the poor.

So why did posting pictures of empty shelves suddenly become a thing on Venezuelan social media this week? The hashtag #AnaquelesVaciosEnVenezuela ("Empty shelves in Venezuela") became a worldwide Twitter trend, with over 200,000 tweets.

BBC Trending have established that it all began on New Year's Eve, when photographer Alejandro Cegarra stood across the street from a branch of the Excelsior Gama supermarket chain. He was trying to take a shot of the many long queues outside the store. He was approached by officers of the National Guard who ordered him to stop, and he live tweeted about it - capturing the attention of hundreds.

Translation: "@Excelsior_Gama unless your policy is to attack a journalist with the National Guard, speak with the manager of Santa Eduvigis branch"

The supermarket manager then also approached Cegerra and told him to stop taking pictures, even though he was not actually inside the premises. Then, as Cegarra also tweeted, the manager asked a National Guard officer to arrest him.

"Another person claiming to be a journalist from newspaper El Nacional came to my support," Cegarra told BBC Trending. "He warned the officer that if he was planning to detain me, then he would have to take him too."

By then, his comments had been retweeted hundreds of times. Excelsior Gama subsequently apologised to him for the incident, but that didn't stop thousands of others posting pictures of empty shelves as a form of protest.

Venezuelan society is polarised, and the vast majority of those posting these images are people openly opposed to the government. One of the first was commercial pilot Oliver Laufer, who has over 14,000 followers on Twitter. His picture is from a different branch of the same retailer, where he seems to have deliberately provoked a confrontation. He found what he was looking for; his message was retweeted thousands of times.

A tweet in Spanish with images of supermarket shelves beneath it

Translation: "@Excelsior_Gama just banned me from taking pictures of the empty shelves and people queuing to buy soap."

"Our staff didn't know what he [Laufer] was taking pictures of and as soon as he was questioned, he got violent," Natacka Ruiz, Excelsior Gama's marketing manager, told BBC Trending. According to Ruiz, Excelsior Gama and other retailers in Venezuela restrict the use of cameras inside their stores for "strategic reasons" to do with marketing. "We invest a lot of money in figuring out the best way to display our products in order to increase our sales," she says. But why can't people take images of empty shelves? "The current situation doesn't mean that we don't have to stick to our rules," she says, "and we also have to preserve our staff's privacy."

Over the days that followed, social media users posted images taken from different supermarket chains - not just Excelsior Gama - all over the country.

Picture taken by Lila Echezuria in the city of Maracay on 6 Jan

This week, there has been further speculation about product shortages in Venezuela, after McDonalds began replacing French fries with cassava chips - or other non-potato alternatives - although the reasons behind this are unclear.

Blog by Gabriela Torres

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

The strange persistence of the odd 'Page X' trend

BBC Trending What's popular and why 16:02 UK time, Thursday, 08 January 2015

The life cycle of silly trends is pretty simple. They get big quick, then die quick.

And so it seemed to be for the trend "Page X of 365" - a meme comparing every day of 2015 to the pages of a moderately thick book. The tag was used mostly to post profundities:

Page 6 of 365. The tongue has no bone, but can break a heart.

Or mark mundanity:

Like with New Year's resolutions or Capital in the Twenty-First Century, people soon slipped away - the trend fell from nearly half a million tweets marking Page 1 on 1 Jan to about 6,000 on 6 Jan.

Something strange happened on 7 Jan however - the trend got a small but significant boost.

The surge was in part down to people wondering why other Twitter users were still bothering to mark the days.

Will Page 8 continue the comeback (as of writing it appears to have got off to a slow start, with around 3,000 total tweets)? Or was the popularity of Page 7 just a dead-cat bounce? We'll be reading until the end of the book (or at least until the pages go completely blank).

Blog by Mike Wendling

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Why the popularity of #killallmuslims is not all it seems

BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:01 UK time, Thursday, 08 January 2015

One of the more shocking Twitter hashtags to take off after the Charlie Hebdo attacks was #Killallmuslims, which has been tweeted about 100,000 times. But its popularity is not all it seems.

#Killallmuslims had been circulating at a very low level since 2013, and was given a boost by the attacks and its use by a Twitter user based in the US who was also posting hugely provocative images of Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad.

But what really propelled the trend were tweets by Muslims and others against the violent message. Nearly all of the most retweeted messages using #killallmuslims were actually criticising the sentiment.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, millions tweeted messages of solidarity under the hashtag #jesuischarlie ("I am Charlie"), and it continues to be a top trend worldwide.

With 2.8m tweets, #jesuischarlie dwarfs all other Charlie Hebdo trends. But other, more complicated reactions to the attacks have cropped up online.

Others - about 20,000 in all - used the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasCharlie ("I am not Charlie"). Many of those tweeters were distancing themselves from from the magazine's controversial - some of them say racist - depictions of Muslims and other minority groups in France. For instance, Charlie Hebdo once depicted French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who is black, as a monkey. The magazine is part of the French-language tradition of Bandes dessinées ("drawn strips"), some of which are provocative to a degree rarely seen in mainstream English-speaking media, even in the most satirical outlets.

Another group has picked out one victim of the attackers - 42-year-old policeman Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim who was shot in the street outside the Charlie Hebdo offices. The first person to use the #jesuisahmed ("I am Ahmed") was a French magazine publisher living in Morocco, Julien Casters, who tweets as @JulesLmeghribi (Jules the Moroccan).

"I decided to start the #jesuisahmed hashtag to remember that a French Muslim was also a victim of the attack," Casters told BBC Trending via email. "It is a snub to the stigmatisation of Islam and a reminder that Muslims in France are not all Islamist radicals. It seemed important to try to unite two years before the presidential elections in France, since the only ones to benefit from these terrorist acts are the extreme right political parties.

"I only wanted to share my opinion and my state of mind with my close friends and followers ... it seems that many people share my beliefs and did what's necessary to relay it to the masses."

#jesuisahmed has been mentioned more than 40,000 times on Twitter since the attacks.

Reporting by Sitala Peek, Ravin Sampat and Gabriela Torres

Blog by Mike Wendling

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

What do non-Americans find strange about the United States?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 14:13 UK time, Thursday, 08 January 2015

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Almost 40,000 people have commented on a thread on Reddit which asked non-Americans to talk about US customs they find strange, pointless or even outrageous.

The way prices are marked in US shops, large numbers of lawyers or obsessive tipping ... it appears the American way is not for everybody.

But for BBC Trending's Random American Guy, all of these things are just common sense.

Video Journalist: Alvaro A. Ricciardelli

That's the Americans, but what baffles the world about the British? Watch our video report on that here

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Charlie Hebdo attack: the response in pictures

BBC Trending What's popular and why 10:53 UK time, Thursday, 08 January 2015

There has been an outpouring of posts on social media in the wake of the attacks in Paris, with 1.3m tweets alone using the hashtag #CharlieHebdo.

This graphic (in English: "I am Charlie") was shared more than 140,000 times in the first hours after the attacks.

Je Suis Charlie poster image being shared on Twitter

The magazine itself then published a PDF with the same phrase translated into seven different languages.

Le Monde and L'Express cartoonist @plantu tweeted this image. The text reads: "We are wholeheartedly with Charlie Hebdo".

Plantu tribute after Charlie Hebdo attack

A 2012 cartoon from the New Yorker was shared more than 6,000 times in the first few hours after the attack.

Cartoon featured in the New Yorker in 2012

Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gerard Biard, who was in London during the attack, said: "I don't understand how people can attack a newspaper with heavy weapons. A newspaper is not a weapon of war." Cartoonists picked up on the 'mighty pen' theme.

Cartoon of attackers holding a paintbrush

There were many variations on the theme questioning how lethal a cartoonist can actually be. The cartoon below says: "Why? ... Pump-action rifle? ... Kalashnikov? ... Grenade?"

Translation: "Why? ... Pump-action rifle? ... Kalashnikov? ... Grenade?"

Previous Charlie Hebdo covers were also being shared on social media. The text of the most popular reads: "Love is stronger than hate" and shows the editor of the magazine kissing a figure that many have interpreted as the Prophet or one of his followers.

That front cover was published after the magazine's offices were attacked in Nov 2011.

Dutch cartoonist Ruben Oppenheimer drew parallels between Wednesday's shootings and the 9/11 attacks.

Two pencils represent the Twin Towers attack

Australian cartoonist David Pope shared an emotional tweet that was shared more than 30,000 times.

David Pope tribute to Charlie Hebdo workers

Some posters went straight to the heart of the issue by sharing a cartoon by the French artist Delize. The text reads: "Believers hurt by non-believers" (the man crying on the left) and "Non-believers hurt by believers." (the man lying in the pool of blood on the right).

A cartoon by French artist Delize of a man reading a newspaper and a wounded man lying on the ground

Blog by Sitala Peek

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Charlie Hebdo's mysterious last tweet before attack

BBC Trending What's popular and why 16:46 UK time, Wednesday, 07 January 2015

Updated 8 Jan: the death of cartoonist Honoré in the attack on Charlie Hebdo has been confirmed.

There has been much media focus on the last tweet sent from the @Charlie_Hebdo_ account before the attack which killed 12 and left several more seriously injured.

The tweet showed a cartoon image of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and came with a puzzling caption: "Best wishes. To you too, Al-Baghdadi." To which the al-Baghdadi is depicted as replying: "And especially good health."

As we reported earlier, the tweet was time stamped Wednesday morning, Paris time. It's not clear whether it was sent before or just after the attack began, but it was posted before news of the shootings broke.

The last tweet sent Wednesday morning by @Charlie_Hebdo_

There's been speculation on whether the attack was related in some way to the image. In fact, the cartoon doesn't appear to have been used before by the magazine, but it also seems to be continuation on a theme. This week's printed edition included a comic with the headline: "There haven't been any attacks in France" but a character wearing a turban with a Kalashnikov rifle strapped to his back saying: "Wait - we still have until the end of January to extend our wishes." In France, it's traditional to offer New Year's greetings until the end of January.

Close-up of Charlie Hebdo tweet showing the signature of "Honore"

Is it just a coincidence that this image was tweeted at around the time of the attack? Some in the French-language press have speculated that the magazine could have been the victim of hackers. The illustration bears the signature of Honoré, a famous French illustrator who was killed in the attack - it's unclear when it was actually drawn.

This week's Charlie Hebdo cover shows a cartoon of controversial author Michel Houellebecq, whose latest novel imagines a France run by an Islamic party, where women are encouraged to wear veils, polygamy is legal and the Koran is taught at universities. The BBC has more on the debate over that book.

This week's Charlie Hebdo cover. Translation: "The predictions of fortune-teller Houellebecq. 'In 2015, I lose my teeth ... in 2022, I fast for Ramadan.'"

Blog by Estelle Doyle and Mike Wendling

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

How Pakistan feels about Imran Khan's new wife

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 14:57 UK time, Wednesday, 07 January 2015

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan

When Pakistan's opposition leader re-married in secret, it was always going to cause a stir.

Imran Khan reportedly confirmed on Monday that he was a married man. He was speaking to reporters at Heathrow Airport before flying home to Pakistan to "share the good news" with the nation.

Reham left the BBC in 2013

His countrymen have taken to Facebook and Twitter expressing mixed feelings about his marriage to Pakistan's Dawn News political talk show host and former BBC Weather presenter @rehamkhan1.

#BestOfLuckIK has gained more than 11,000 retweets in 24 hours. But it is battling it out with an outpouring of love for Imran Khan's ex-wife Jemima Khan, with Pakistanis reposting archived photos of her on their timelines.

There are also snipes on Twitter and Facebook at his new wife Reham.

She has hit back on her own Twitter account.

She was quick to comment on photos circulating of her allegedly emerging from a sex shop, which she said were fake and had been photoshopped.

Many archive pictures from Reham's BBC presenting days are circulating on social media along with protracted conversations about the length of her skirt.

Imran Khan with Jemima at an election rally

Imran and Jemima married in 1995 and their marriage was dissolved in 2004

Jemima Khan is being 'love bombed' by tweets from Pakistan and has been replying to many of them thanking people for their support.

Jemima Khan tweets her thanks to Pakistanis for their show of support after news emerged of his marriage to Reham

A sample of those tweets read: Jemima Khan "You will remain respectable as a daughter, sister and mother for millions of #Pakistanis."

"U will remain the First Lady Ma'am. No-one like Reham can replace you!!"

She also tweeted a response to the news of the marriage acknowledging that she will always feel like an honorary Pakistani citizen and wishing Imran happiness. "I'll always love Pakistan," she said.

Imran Khan's only reference to his marriage on social media was this tweet posted on Twitter and Facebook on 31 December. He did not deny it but said reports of his marriage were "greatly exaggerated."

Reporting by Sitala Peek

Tweets from Charlie Hebdo attack scene

BBC Trending What's popular and why 13:24 UK time, Wednesday, 07 January 2015

As the attack on a satirical magazine unfolded in Paris, Twitter and Facebook have been playing a role - including posts from the scene.

One of the most dramatic images was tweeted by journalist Martin Boudot who was apparently sheltering with colleagues on the roof of a building during the assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. The tweet was later deleted but not before being shared thousands of times.

Translation: "Attack by two hooded men on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. We've taken refuge on the roof"

Another journalist apparently tweeting from near the scene of the attack shared this aerial view of a victim being taken from the building.

This image was tweeted with the text: "A second seriously injured person is taken out #CharlieHebdo"

Speculation has centred on the last tweet sent from the @Charlie_Hebdo_ account, which shows a cartoon image of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and a rather anodyne message: "Best wishes, by the way." The tweet was time stamped Wednesday morning, Paris time. However it is not known whether the tweet was sent before or during the attack, whether the magazine had used the image before or what link - if any at all - it has to the shootings.

Comic caption: "Best wishes. To you too, Al-Baghdadi." Baghdadi's quote: "And especially good health."

Meanwhile others were sending messages of support under the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie - "I am Charlie." It has been shared more than 20,000 times in the last hour.

We'll post more as we get it.

Blog by Mike Wendling, Estelle Doyle and Ravin Sampat

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

What's funny about the Irish famine?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 09:43 UK time, Wednesday, 07 January 2015

Irish famine memorial sculpture in Dublin

Plans for a comedy series set during the Irish potato famine have hit a nerve on social media. Are some subjects still taboo in a country famed for its dark humour?

Last week it emerged that the British broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned an Irish writer, Hugh Travers, to pen a television pilot about a subject of his choice. That choice has proved hugely controversial. Provisionally called Hunger, his script is still in development and like many nascent projects, might never be filmed. But the mere suggestion of a comedy based on one of Ireland's bleakest periods has led more than 30,000 people to sign a petition on Change.org.

"I don't want to do anything that denies the suffering that people went through, but Ireland has always been good at black humour," Travers told the Irish Times.

More than a million people died and another two million emigrated during the famine in the mid-1800s, the result of potato blight and exports of food to Great Britain, which ruled the entire island at the time.

"Reducing the Irish famine to comedy is very trite. It's an attempt to trivialise an epic tragedy," Niall O'Dowd, founder of Irish Central, told BBC Trending. "Everything is disposable in this selfie generation. But there are limits to comedy. You can't shout 'fire' in a crowded theatre as a joke. The famine is not a topic for laughter."

On social media there was a mixed reaction. "What exactly is funny about over 1 million people starving to death?!" asked one Twitter user.

Tweet by Irish comedy group the rubber bandits

Others defended the idea in the interest of freedom of expression.

"Signing a petition that could prohibit Channel 4 from potentially developing a famine-centred sitcom is effectively condoning censorship." tweeted Anna Ni Uiginn.

If Hunger ends up on air, it won't be the first time the famine has featured in television comedy.

The Irish comedian Dave McSavage made this sketch about it back in 2009. It was televised on Ireland's national broadcaster RTE. And perhaps unsurprisingly, he's a staunch defender of the right of comics to poke fun at anything they choose.

"The idea of not being able to talk about the famine through comedy is bonkers. There's no subject off limits. That's like saying history is off limits." McSavage told BBC Trending. "Comedy and laughter is a sign of health and mental well-being. What's important is the context and how it's presented."

McSavage's routines also include jokes about paedophile priests and the Catholic Church. In 2014, RTE pulled the plug on a video he made due to "blasphemous content". It included salacious shots of nuns ogling a scantily clad Jesus.

But the comedian remains defiant about the power of comedy to heal old wounds.

"It's good to open things up. It sounds like the people against Hunger are close-minded nationalists," he said. "Comedy is tragedy plus time. The famine was a tragedy but enough time has passed."

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

#KirbyDelauter becomes a Twitter punching bag

BBC Trending What's popular and why 22:49 UK time, Tuesday, 06 January 2015

A tweet about Kirby Delauter by Kevin Bowen

Kirby Delauter would probably not approve of this blog post.

The Frederick County, Maryland, council member recently threatened his local paper, the News-Post, with a lawsuit if it printed his name without permission. The dispute was the result of what Mr Delauter says was unfair coverage by Bethany Rodgers, one of the paper's reporters.

"Shame on Bethany Rodgers for an unauthorised use of my name and my reference in her article today," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"Bethany, please understand, when you do a hit piece, you need to know who you're dealing with," he continued.

Ms Rodgers responded, in part: "It is not just our right but our responsibility to report on people like you, who occupy positions of trust in our government, and I make no apologies for doing that." At which point, Mr Delauter replied that if her paper used his name again, "you'll be paying for an attorney. Your rights stop where mine start."

Mr Delauter received the paper's answer shortly after midnight on Tuesday, when the News-Post published an editorial titled "Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter" on its website.

Over the course of 13 paragraphs, the editors printed the politician's name - and variations on it - dozens of times. And the first letter of every paragraph spelled out "KIRBY DELAUTER".

Andrew Langer tweets about Kirby Delauter.

"Kirby Delauter's ignorance of what journalism is and does is no joke, and illustrates one disturbing aspect too prevalent in conservatives' beliefs: That the media are all liberal stooges hell-bent on pursuing some fictional left-wing agenda," they write.

Meanwhile, thanks in part to coverage from the national press, including the Washington Post, the Huffington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times, #kirbydelauter became a Twitter trend and a fake Twitter account, @KirbyDelauter, was born.

"Today is the day the Internet put its foot on Kirby Delauter's neck," tweets media critic Jack Shafer.

The Cincinnati Enquirer's Amber Hunt says she "might add #KirbyDelauter to every tweet today, no matter the subject, in Fourth Estate solidarity."

Others took a more pessimistic view. Slate writer Alec MacGillis tweets: "The #KirbyDelauter story's hilarious, but in all seriousness, this is what comes of decline of local press: pols think coverage is optional."

Perhaps Steve Earley summed it up best, however: "If you don't want journalists to use your name, don't tell them they can't."

You can say that again - and so can Kirby Delauter.

Blog by Anthony Zurcher

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Why some people are so upset over #blackbrunch

BBC Trending What's popular and why 10:05 UK time, Tuesday, 06 January 2015

It started as a creative method of protest against police violence in America.

The hashtag #blackbrunch hit New York City over the weekend. It was used by protesters who interrupted meals at several restaurants. They recited the names of African Americans killed by police, security guards or vigilantes, an action one organiser says was inspired by the civil rights protests of the 1950s and 60s.

The breakfast interruptions started in relative obscurity last month on the other side of the US in Oakland, California as a tactic to highlight allegations of police brutality. Wazi Davis was one of the people who organised the initial protests.

"Me and my friends wanted to be protesting and be in the streets, but a lot of the protests we saw happening were not organised by black folks at all," Davis says.

Targeting brunch at upscale restaurants was seen by activists as one way of taking a message to a new demographic group - wealthy and predominately white.

"We march, chant and sing together as we claim space in areas that are predominantly non-Black," according to a manual posted online by The BlackOUT Collective, one of the groups behind the original protests.

Thousands of people have tweeted under the #blackbrunch and #blackbrunchnyc tags over the last few days. But several of the most popular comments were anti-protest.

John Cardillo claimed his tweet was meant to be provocative but not threatening.

One of the more attention-grabbing tweets (above) was sent by John Cardillo, a businessman and former New York City police officer.

"I found this group to be incredibly cowardly, this was a feel-good measure and they picked the softest target imaginable," Cardillo told BBC Trending. "It was incredibly tasteless to do this during the funeral of a police officer [in New York City on Sunday]. It was in incredibly poor taste and it was counterproductive to their mission."

During Sunday's funeral of one of two officers shot dead by a man who wrote online missives against the police, New York City officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio to express their unhappiness at his handling of anti-police protests.

Cardillo says his tweet was deliberately provocative but wasn't meant as an actual threat - he lives in Miami, far from the scene of the protests - and denied that there was a racial motivation to his criticism. He says he would have supported the protesters if they had been on the street rather than in restaurants and that he was testing the reaction of some tweeters.

"These people who are screaming about my photograph, I didn't see any of them shouting about the murder of two cops," he says.

Wazi Davis, the protest organiser, says criticism - both online and off - hasn't put activists off their brunch protests.

"We had a mix of reactions. Some people were really moved by the message we brought. Some came up to us and asked how they could help. Others you could see the clear annoyance on their faces.

"#Blackbrunch is definitely going to continue."

Blog by Mike Wendling

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Could an awkward hug derail a career?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 17:01 UK time, Monday, 05 January 2015

Chris Christie attempts high five resulting in group hug

Chris Christie (right) attempted a double high-five

That awkward moment when your high-five isn't returned.

It happened to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie - @GovChristie on Twitter - who was left hanging after a Dallas Cowboys win on Sunday.

The governor's name has been trending continuously since Sunday night along with a vine of the cringey moment.

It has led some political commentators to claim it's damaged his chances of becoming a Republican presidential candidate.

Helen Munro, managing director of the Whitehouse Consultancy, a London-based PR agency for politicians and public servants, says: "You would expect a potential presidential candidate to command greater attention in these situations, however it is unlikely that this would manifest in the end of Mr Christie's presidential aspirations.

"Of course, world leaders need to look appropriate, but voters also want to see they're individuals.

"Mr Christie is caught up in the exuberance of the moment and most people would relate to that."

And some posters agree with that perspective:

But political blogger Mark Yzaguirre, who writes for publications including the Huffington Post, says the clip may have hurt the governor's electoral appeal exactly because of his desire to come across as an everyman.

"He's trying to portray himself as a candidate of the people more than (former Republican presidential candidate) Mitt Romney can. When you're an everyman candidate, to be filmed hugging the owner of the Dallas Cowboys in the owner's box, well it doesn't look good does it?"

Some constituents also took umbrage at the governor's sporting allegiances. New Jersey is home to two professional American football teams - the New York Giants and the New York Jets - and also contains a sizeable contingent of fans of the nearby Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas, on the other hand, is about 2,500 km away. There were also evergreen jibes about the governor's substantial weight.

The governor's brother Todd quickly came out in defence of Chris, posting the following on Facebook:

"To all those non Cowboy fans who have their panties in a ringer because the Governor of NJ is a Cowboys fan---GET A LIFE !!! The Gov has been a Cowboys fan for his entire life and ALL of you would sit with the owner of your favourite team in a heartbeat if given the chance ... And for every calorically challenged FB person who posts about the Gov's weight--forget the magic mirror and look at yourself. Weight posts---really?"

The bad news for Chris Christie is that even if he does manage to win the golden ticket to the White House (he says he will decide early this year whether to run in 2016), there will be plenty more opportunities for socially awkward moments.

Awkwardness in itself is no barrier to becoming president. The 37th US president, Richard Nixon, was the epitome of a socially awkward leader. When a policeman was knocked off his motorcycle by the presidential motorcade, Nixon apparently asked him how he liked his job, in an attempt to show compassion.

Awkwardness can befall even the most socially gifted. Barack Obama abnormally lost his cool during an unfortunate three-way handshake at the G20 summit in Brisbane.

Barack Obama, Tony Abbott and Shinzo Abe share an awkward three-way handshake

President Putin was snapped in a finger pointing encounter with Tony Abbott, also at the G20 summit.

And let's not forget the Thai prime minister head-patting strangeness that we reported on in November.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha's hand pats the head of a journalist kneeled in front of him throughout a press briefing

Maybe we just have to live with the fact that sporting victories can animate the most unlikely of people and world leaders aren't immune to celebrating either. Remember this from Chelsea's Champions League win over Bayern Munich?

World leaders react to a Champions League goal

But there is an upside for the governor. As CBS St Louis radio presenter Greg Hewitt said: "At least they're not talking about that damn bridge anymore." - a reference to allegations that the governor closed a key crossing into New York City to punish a political opponent.

Political blogger Mark Yzaguirre said the best thing the governor could do for himself now was to laugh it off.

"When his brother came out and defended him, he didn't say it was trivial, because he knows it matters. They care about this and because it's on social media it is not going to go away. This clip is going to be replayed and replayed until the election," he says. "In the next few days Christie should post a response to all the memes. He could do one of him dancing around with someone else."

Let that be a warning: more Chris Christie dancing clips could be on the way.

Reporting by Sitala Peek

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

What got hot and what did not in 2014

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:01 UK time, Monday, 05 January 2015

What were the top trends of 2014?

We've produced two interactive videos to remind you of some of the things that went big on social media - or fill you in on what you might have missed. You can explore more on any of the stories covered by clicking on the screen to watch full videos or blog posts.

INTERACTIVE VIDEO: Part 1: January to June / Part 2: July to December

Video Journalist: Neil Meads

Having problems viewing this interactive look back? You can watch a version on our YouTube channel.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

#BBCtrending radio: Which social platforms will be hot in 2015?

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 13:42 UK time, Monday, 05 January 2015

Stream BBC Trending's latest programme or download the podcast.

BBC Trending reports here on this blog, but we're also on the BBC World Service. Every week we cover the latest in social media on our radio programme, exploring what's viral and why.

This week we take a look at which social media platforms the biggest memes, videos and hashtags have been shared on, and how that might change in 2015. Will the talk be on chat apps like WhatsApp, WeChat or Snapchat? We speak to David Karp the CEO of Tumblr, and to actress and model Lily Cole about her new platform based on sharing. The Trending team also divulge their insightful yet sometimes baffling social media predictions for the coming year.

Presented by Anne-Marie Tomchak and Charlotte McDonald.

You can put us in your pocket and listen anytime by downloading our free podcast. We're on BBC World Service radio at 10:30 GMT on Saturdays.

Lily Cole's social network ambition

BBC Trending What's popular and why 03:48 UK time, Friday, 02 January 2015

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

trending

The model and actress Lily Cole has been running her own social network, Impossible, for a year.

The site allows people to ask for something they need, or offer what they can give for free - without expecting anything in return.

But is it impossibly idealistic? BBC Trending catches up with Cole.

Reporter: Anne-Marie Tomchak

Video Journalist: Alvaro Alvarez

Want more? Watch our profiles of the stars of social media on BBC Trending's YouTube channel.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

The top trends of 2015 (maybe)

BBC Trending What's popular and why 02:13 UK time, Thursday, 01 January 2015

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

GoPro grannies

From record-breaking selfies to ice-bucket charity challenges, 2014 has been a fascinating year of top trends. So what's going to go viral in 2015? What new trends can we expect?

GoPro grannies, a new teen internet sensation, or the latest charity nomination craze that might involve building a hut, perhaps. Here are some predictions for 2015 from the team behind BBC Trending.

Produced by Ravin Sampat, Charlotte McDonald, Samiha Nettikkara, and Gabriela Torres

Video credits: Herbert Midgley, BBC, October 26th Movement, The News Hub. Image credits: Getty, ThinkStock

You can hear more from the BBC Trending team on BBC World Service every Saturday at 10:30 GMT, and you can subscribe to the free podcast here. Want to watch more Trending videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

A transgender teen's last note

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 19:31 UK time, Wednesday, 31 December 2014

"If you are reading this, it means I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue."

So starts a suicide note written by Leelah Alcorn, a 17-year-old transgender teenager who died this week in the US state of Ohio. Alcorn scheduled the note to be published several hours after her death.

In the letter posted on Tumblr, she said she killed herself after years of struggling with her strict Christian parents' refusal to acknowledge her true identity as a female.

"There's no winning. There's no way out... People say 'it gets better' but that isn't true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse," Alcorn wrote in the post which has since been reblogged more than 196,000 times. The hashtag #LeelahAlcorn also went viral, with more than 243,000 mentions over two days.

Alcorn ended her note with a plea: "The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren't treated the way I was... My death needs to mean something. Fix society. Please."

Many saw the public suicide note as a way to both provide awareness of trans issues and provide Alcorn a final measure of dignity.

"By scheduling tumblr posts, #LeelahAlcorn defeated measures by her parents to defame her legacy, her life, herself," wrote Twitter user @Unit0053.

User @RozeWithaZee tweeted, "Just had an epiphany that #Tumblr saved #LeelahAlcorn's life from being misrepresented entirely. She was able to tell her actual story."

But experts say there are risks to a message of this nature going viral.

"In a way, it's a double-edged sword," said Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Moutier explained that stories like Alcorn's can be used to raise awareness about suicide, transgender issues and mental illness - but that high-profile suicides sometimes come with tragic, unintended consequences.

"It's sensationalised in and of itself," Moutier said of the post, noting that the phenomenon of suicide contagion, where one suicide leads to the death of others, is especially high among troubled teens.

Moutier also notes that while Alcorn's note focuses on the external circumstances that led her to kill herself - what she felt was a lack of acceptance by her religious parents - it only touches on the mental health problems that underlie more than 90% of suicides.

Tumblr could not comment on Leelah Alcorn's post, but the sharing platform's community guidelines seem to reflect the grey area between using social media as a forum to help those who feel alienated and alone, and the danger of providing a place where disturbing messages can be shared globally.

The policy states "don't post content that actively promotes or glorifies self harm," but recognises that the internet is a place where people dealing with suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and cutting look for support.

"Dialogue about these behavours is incredibly important and online communities can be extraordinarily helpful to people struggling with these difficult conditions. We aim for Tumblr to be a place that facilitates awareness, support and recovery, and we will remove only those posts or blogs that cross the line into active promotion or glorification of self-harm."

Whether Alcorn's note is seen as a springboard for change or a trigger for other at-risk youths remains up for debate - but either way, her note has sparked a global conversation.

Reporting by Brenna Cammeron

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Tumblr CEO: Focusing on storytelling and self-expression

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 07:53 UK time, Monday, 29 December 2014

Is Tumblr the most expressive social platform? Founder and CEO David Karp reckons so. He says Tumblr is the place where people can reveal their true identity and creativity. And while he admits that other sites like Facebook and Twitter have been pivotal in bringing about social and political change, Karp argues that Tumblr - owned by Yahoo - has a different, more reflective, role to play.

The site has more than 213 million registered users and quite a young user base - over half of visitors are under 25. And while it's popular in the UK, Brazil and Australia, the US is still one of its biggest markets, accounting for 40% of traffic. BBC Trending's Anne-Marie Tomchak caught up with David Karp.

David, there were changes made to Tumblr in 2014. Tell us about some of the latest developments?

We are constantly working to stretch the canvas to make Tumblr a bigger, more expressive platform for more talented and aspiring creators. So some of the really exciting stuff that we got to in 2014 was around mobile expression. We also did some really innovative stuff in video.

Is Tumblr's goal to become a direct competitor of YouTube?

Absolutely not. We just want Tumblr to be a better place for all video - a better place for those YouTube creators to share their stuff, and a canvas where those creators also have the opportunity to throw their videos directly onto Tumblr.

Why would someone go to Tumblr for video if they can already do it on YouTube?

One of the reasons we've had such a community of creators is because Tumblr is a place where you can build something from scratch with complete control of how you present yourself and how you put your work out there into the world. You're not limited to just your videos or photos. There's good reason to use lots of platforms, but Tumblr for many of these creators ends up being their true identity on the web and it gets syndicated out to a lot of these networks.

Illustrations of 43 missing Mexican students were part of one of the most striking campaigns trending on Tumblr this year

Social media has brought about real cultural, political and social change. Where does Tumblr fit into that?

The thing I get most excited about in how social media is facilitating change and the role Tumblr is playing in it. There's no question these social tools have done a remarkable amount for organising large groups of people. We saw that with movements like Occupy Wall Street, Ferguson, and the Arab Spring - world-changing movements that have been organised entirely through social media and perhaps could not have been organised at this scale without social media.

What really delighted and surprised us is that these movements were being organised through real-time social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. But the conversation, the narrative, the storytelling really developed on Tumblr.

Tumblr is perhaps not the spot that people go to see where the marches or rallies are going to be happening in their city, or what's going on right this second, or what the government or police are doing to respond to something. What is really coming to life on Tumblr is the conversation around where these movements go. What happens after the people have been heard, after these causes build up real momentum and they have the opportunity to change things.

So you're saying people take stock on Tumblr in the aftermath of major news events?

They absolutely do. It's the place that's able to take these issues from a moment of action to a real conversation, a real dialogue about what comes next. This is something that we saw in a really big way with "net neutrality", which is a really obtuse issue, that frankly most of the people that it really affects didn't really understand. [Eds note: here's a great explainer about it from BBC technology reporter Jane Wakefield]

Tumblr ended up being a place where that narrative was able to unfold in such an expressive, accessible way that we were able to drive 130,000 calls to US Congress. Millions of emails were sent. Millions of people participated in this movement.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The disappearance of 43 students in Mexico - whose portraits were posted on a Tumblr page - and shoplifters showcasing their exploits, are among the Tumblr-related stories we've covered on BBC Trending. What are the challenges of regulating content on the site?

This is a challenge for all of these platforms. I think the hardest thing is holding true to your convictions and not compromising the whole network when something turns up that turns your stomach. This is why we've worked so hard over years to get those policies just right. Something I'm really proud of is that we've stuck to those same principles of free expression while still working really hard to protect children on our network to make sure that Tumblr doesn't end up being a pernicious, intensely negative place.

Reporting by Anne-Marie Tomchak

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

What is it like to be a blind film critic?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 00:30 UK time, Sunday, 28 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Film critic, radio traffic announcer and popular Instagrammer - Tommy Edison delights in doing things you wouldn't expect a blind person to do.

Blind since birth, Edison set up a YouTube channel to review films from a blind person's perspective. The comments section was quickly filled with sighted people fascinated about what it's like to be blind. Edison then launched a second channel to answer questions like "can blind people draw?" and "how do blind people dream?"

BBC Trending speaks to him about how he got started.

Video journalist: Neil Meads

Want more? Watch our profiles of the stars of social media on BBC Trending's YouTube channel.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

What makes a video go viral?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 10:32 UK time, Saturday, 27 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Of all the millions of videos posted online each day - of cats and kids, sports and war, mundane moments and earth-shattering events - how do some clips rise above the fray?

In other words: what makes a video go viral?

BBC Trending talked to social news luminaries from Gawker, BuzzFeed and Mashable to find out what elements are more likely to make a video trend.

And if you're interested in virality and the new world of news, the BBC Radio 4 documentary 23 Amazing Reasons This Radio Programme Will Change Your Life, presented by Trending's Mukul Devichand, is a must-listen. If you like it, share it with your friends. (But then again, we would say that, wouldn't we?)

Video Journalist: Alvaro Alvarez

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

What might the tsunami have looked like on social media?

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 21:04 UK time, Thursday, 25 December 2014

An aerial view of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after the 2004 tsunami (top) and today

Aerial views of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after the 2004 tsunami (top) and today

How has social media transformed our understanding - and our ability to respond to - major disasters?

The Indian Ocean Tsunami was one of the worst natural disasters on record. But it also occupies an unusual place in history. Although it occurred in a globalised world, and was covered by every major media source on earth, it took place just before the modern age of social media.

Facebook was founded in early 2004 - the year the tsunami hit - but it wasn't open to the general public at the time. Twitter didn't come into existence until 2006. And part of the inspiration for YouTube came when a founder was looking for online videos of the tsunami - and couldn't find them.

So what might the reaction to the tsunami have looked like on today's social media? We asked the audience of the BBC's Indonesian Service to tweet messages as if they had gone back in time to 26 Dec 2004.

Translation: "Aceh in emergency. Need your help to help them."

Translation: "God forgive us - and save our brothers and sisters. Will the world come to an end?"

Translation: "Go climb a coconut tree and hang tight."

The internet was of course well-established in late 2004, and blogs captured the devastation of the tsunami and the human impact of the wave. Online news outlets, including the BBC, covered the disaster with a full range of online video and audio.

But without the immediacy and intimacy of social media, many internet users turned to blogs for personal accounts of the disaster. Mark Oberle, a doctor and professor emeritus at University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle, was on a family holiday in Thailand when the wave struck. He immediately started treating victims. And a few days in, he started a a gripping account online from Bangkok - a blog post which continues to get traffic today.

A screen grab of Mark Oberle's post about the tsunami.

"I knew that there were a lot of people who were trying to make sense of the situation," he says. "[Online], I pretty much only found news stories that were posted by reporters and news services ... I felt that writing was my own personal catharsis but also a service to other people. I got a tremendous number of queries and I still, a decade later, get a note every few months from someone saying 'Thank you for posting this.'"

There were social media stirrings in 2004, even if widespread adoption of those technologies was some years off, according to Leysia Palen, an associate professor who researches the use of social media during disasters at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"We had been getting these indications that some major changes were underfoot," during the tsunami, and even earlier, during the 11 Sept attacks in New York and Washington, she says, pointing to activity on the photo-sharing site Flickr.

These days social networking can translate into practical help for people on the ground.

"Those people who are onlookers to the event, sometimes get involved in helping activity. Not a huge number, but more than one might expect," Palen says.

Twitter and other platforms are also now used to provide early disaster warnings - such as this account run by the US National Weather Service.

Social networking can help in the search for missing people, Oberle says, pointing out that a relatively low-tech system was used in this way after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, in which he lost a family member.

"That technology wasn't available at the time of the tsunami," he says. "People used paper and boards as people wandered from hospital to relief camps to find people who were missing."

But the importance of networks isn't limited to immediate practical concerns like guiding people to safe havens and coordinating emergency response - it has also profoundly affected our our overall understanding of history.

"Usually when we think of social media we think of that immediate instant response," Palen says. "But social media accounts are going to be very important in the future, we will see them as part of a rich way in which we document what has happened."

Even the stories of historical, pre-social media disasters are being retold online today, often - like the tsunami now (being marked on Twitter at @BBCNewsAsia and elsewhere), or this year's World War I commemorations - at the point of key anniversaries. Seemingly ephemeral messages are becoming key to the way we will tell stories far into the future, Palen says.

"Those significant disasters even in the 'before social media' age are being revived and commemorated anew in the social media world," she says.

Reporting by Mike Wendling and Endang Nurdin Widjono

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Ireland's teenage tech prodigy

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 14:00 UK time, Wednesday, 24 December 2014

At the age of 12, Jordan Casey created a game that trended in the Apple iTunes store. Now 15, he's the chief executive of his own business, Casey Games. BBC Trending caught up with him to find out how he became a tech prodigy.

Casey first developed an interest in games when he was nine because he "thought it would be a fun hobby to blog about". After a short time writing about the games he was playing, he decided to make his own apps.

"At the time I was playing a game which had a tool to make your own house. So I figured this is how making your own game would work, only a bit more complex," he says. "I went to a store, bought a book on programming and started watching videos on YouTube. It all took off from there."

In 2012 he topped the charts in the Apple Store in his native Ireland with a game called Alien Ball. It was his first attempt to make a game suitable for iPhone, and the success came as a surprise.

"Alien Ball was a version of Space Invaders. Originally it was just an experimental game to test out the iPhone technology. I didn't expect it to do so well," he says.

The fact that the game was made by someone so young also helped. During the Apple review process, Casey wrote "by a 12 year old" in the description. That caught the company's attention. They contacted him and subsequently featured the game on their site. He's made several apps since then, including a sequel to Alien Ball.

In 2013 Casey ventured into more complicated software with the launch of TeachWare, an app which allows teachers to manage student information.

"I came up with the idea when my teacher lost her big black book with all of the students details of attendance and test results. I wanted to make something reliable. It's encrypted and saved in the cloud so you can't lose your information." TeachWare is now being used in parts of Asia, Africa and Europe and it won an award at an exhibition for young scientists.

When we meet him, Jordan Casey is confident, unassuming and relaxed. But he says that wasn't always the case. "I used to be really shy and I wasn't used to all of this attention. When I was 12 I was invited to the Cannes Lions festival. They treated me like I was famous and put me in a limo and stuff. It was really surreal and it happened really fast. In January I was making my own game and four months later I'm being shipped off to talk about my story."

Casey lives with his parents in Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. He goes to school and has a schedule for homework and his business. Like any ordinary teenager he enjoys spending time with his friends and playing football. And his coding expertise has come in handy for some teenage pranks.

"For my mum on Mother's Day I made an app and it looked like a search engine. Every time she tried to search something on it, it would just come up with 'Happy Mother's Day.' I was also trying to persuade her to let me have a sleepover so under the Mother's Day greeting it said 'Can I please have a sleepover?' in the search results," he says.

Despite his success he still considers his business a hobby - one that he's glad is catching on.

"When I started out at age nine, there weren't a lot of kids coding. But in the last four or five years, it's completely changed. Coding has become a normal hobby now - I think that's really cool."

Jordan addressing a large audience at this year's Web Summit in Dublin

Reporting by Anne-Marie Tomchak

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

The man who brings 20,000 toys back to life

BBC Trending What's popular and why 10:11 UK time, Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

A collector who lives with thousands of toys crammed into suitcases in his London flat has become a Youtube hit.

Tim Rowett - "Tim the Toyman" as he calls himself - has been collecting toys for fifty years. He used to be a children's entertainer, and would buy new toys every year for his performances. Now retired, he brings the games, cards and more back to life on 'YouTube's 'Grand Illusions' channel.

His demonstrations allow thousands of people to re-discover the "wow" factor of old toys.

Video journalist: Neil Meads

Want more? Watch our profiles of the stars of social media on BBC Trending's YouTube channel.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

#BBCTrending radio: recycled photos, YouTube Rewind and Russian Zen

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:41 UK time, Monday, 22 December 2014

A screen grab from Zenrus.ru

Stream BBC Trending's latest programme or download the podcast.

This week:

Recycled photos and the Peshawar attack

The support on social media was overwhelming in the aftermath of the Taliban attacks on Pakistani schoolchildren. People exchanged messages of support and widespread condemnation of the attackers. And they also shared images, some quite graphic. One of the images circulating on Twitter and Facebook was that of a tiny, blood-soaked child's shoe, held on a man's outstretched palm. The problem was, it was an old photo. We talk to the man who took it to find out where it really came from.

YouTube's Rewind

Many of the top social platforms have been creating end of year lists of what have been the biggest trends on their sites. We discuss what was popular on Twitter and Facebook and also speak to Kevin Allocca, who has been involved with making this year's YouTube Rewind video - featuring some of the biggest videos of the year.

Russian rouble Zen

The Russian economy is in the doldrums at the moment and it's driving some people to Zen. We sample a few of the rouble-themed memes, including Zenrus, a site which displays a dashboard showing foreign exchange rates between roubles, dollars and Euros, and the price of oil in real time. It also plays soothing music.

Presented by Anne-Marie Tomchak

Produced by Gemma Newby and Charlotte McDonald.

You can put us in your pocket and listen anytime by downloading our free podcast. We're on BBC World Service radio at 10:30 GMT on Saturdays.

'All About That Bass': the feminist business parody

BBC Trending What's popular and why 11:32 UK time, Monday, 22 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

All About That Bass is the latest music hit to be widely parodied - with one group of Ivy League students using it to challenge the sexist attitudes they say they've faced in the business world.

The MBA students from New York's Columbia Business School made the video as part of their end-of-year 'Follies' show.

Students from one of the United States' most prestigious postgraduate universities are using a parody of Meghan Trainor's pop hit 'All about that Bass' to challenge the sexist attitudes they say they've faced in the business world.

Like a number of parodies being made of the song, it was intended partly as a joke, and they say they have been amazed that it's been viewed almost two million times on YouTube.

Video journalist: Greg Brosnan

Want more? Watch our profiles of the stars of social media on BBC Trending's YouTube channel.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

US black activists call Twitter protest

BBC Trending What's popular and why 04:48 UK time, Monday, 22 December 2014

Black social media activists in the US are laying down their phones to go on strike in protest at their treatment by mainstream academics and media.

They are using the hashtag #ThisTweetCalledMyBack for the action.

On 12 December seven authors stated their frustration with the way their work on social media had, in their view, been both devalued and appropriated by more mainstream groups.

"We are Black Women, AfroIndigenous and women of colour [WOC] who have organized a social media Blackout," they wrote.

The hashtag has been shared more than 9,000 times by activists who feel that the intellectual, political and philosophical contributions these women have made aren't being recognised.

Using Twitter, Tumblr and other blogs they have made important contributions to issues surrounding race, class and gender, they say. Non-profits, academics and media organisations draw from their work but never officially reach out to them or give them a place in their organisations, the activists claim.

"People do love learning from WOC specifically Black women but few want to pay for that knowledge, problematic. #ThisTweetCalledMyBack," wrote @BlackGirlInMain onTwitter.

Indeed, these women claim that because the bulk of their work is published on social media, it isn't respected - even though social media is often the only outlet available to them, and even though posting on social media exposes them to threats, harassment and abuse.

"We have been constantly months ahead of the news cycle, and seen reflections and outright copies of our work in spaces to which we are denied access," writes Shaadi Devereaux in a New Inquiry essay about the movement.

"Non-profits and big names with large followings present at conferences and lead anti-violence campaigns using our digital framework - and in many cases, stolen work" she says.

That's why many using the hashtag have decided to minimise participation on Twitter, with some calling to boycott the academic conferences where they say their work has been appropriated.

Ms Devereaux, who tweets as @tgirlinterruptd, told the BBC that the response thus far has been "huge outpourings of support from other marginalised women who have felt unsafe and unable to voice this experience of theft and abuse".

She says an ideal outcome would be a digital space in which women who aren't traditionally represented by mainstream media and academic outlets could safely tell their own stories, create their own solutions and receive comprehensive support.

Reporting by Micah Luxen

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Trends of the week - in 60 seconds

BBC Trending What's popular and why 03:22 UK time, Sunday, 21 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Spotlight on social media trends of the week, in a 60-second round-up

A hashtag shows public anger in Spain after a new Citizen Security Law was passed, and American business students and NASA interns make parodies of a hit song.

These, and more social media trends of the week, in our 60-second round-up.

Produced by Samiha Nettikkara

Video credits: Reuters, APTN, YouTube/MeghanTrainorVevo, YouTube/CBSfollies, YouTube/ReelNASA

Picture credits: Getty Images, Reuters, Twitter/bhakthi, Twitter/FRNSW

You can hear more from the BBC Trending team on BBC World Service every Saturday at 10:30 GMT, and you can subscribe to the free podcast here. Want to watch more Trending videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

Does this 90-year-old photo show the world's first 'selfie stick'?

BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:27 UK time, Friday, 19 December 2014

Alan Cleaver from Whitehaven in Cumbria sent a picture of his grandparents - could this be the first photo taken with a 'selfie stick'?

Alan Cleaver from Whitehaven sent this picture of his grandparents to BBC Radio Cumbria - could it be the first photo taken with a 'selfie stick'?

There's a new gadget to help you with those tricky self-photography angles - but is the "selfie stick" really a modern phenomenon?

Earlier BBC Trending told the story of the rise of this year's hot trend - the selfie stick. It prompted freelance journalist Alan Cleaver to send in the above picture in which his grandparents are taking a photo of themselves with the aid of, yes, a long pole. In fact, you might even call it a stick.

Cleaver says the photo was taken in Rugby, in Warwickshire (central England) in 1925 just after his grandparents Arnold and Helen Hogg got married. Fortunately for us, Arnold Hogg committed the rookie error of accidently including the pole in shot, preserving the evidence of his selfie stick for posterity.

"It's always been a favourite photo of the family," Cleaver says.

A young woman takes self-portrait with a selfie stick in central London

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

BBC Trending reports on the rise of the 'selfie stick'. Just ignore the bit where we say they've been around for about two years.

Cleaver says his grandfather was a renowned entertainer and a musician who played piano in a local cinema until his professional career was cut short by another technological innovation - the talking film. But he says Arnold Hogg, who died in 1972, wouldn't have been sore about missing out on any potential selfie-stick royalties.

"He'd have loved the attention the photo is getting now, more than 100 years after his birth, because he was that sort of guy - very off the wall, very entertaining," Cleaver says. "It's wonderful that the rest of the world is delighting in the humour of this situation."

Selfies themselves are as old as photography, but until today we thought the selfie stick was a more recent - and, for some, slightly pernicious - phenomenon.

Michael Pritchard, the director-general of the Royal Photographic Society and an expert in the history of photography, says that he's not aware of selfie sticks being commercially available until very recently.

"That said, amateur photographers have always been an incredibly inventive bunch of people," he says. "There are lots and lots of examples over the years of amateurs devising all sorts of clever contraptions."

Amateur box cameras of the 1920s would not have been able to capture an in-focus self-photo when held at arms length, he says, so selfie photographers then would have had to use a remote shutter device such as a cable, or else - as Arnold Hogg apparently did - build their own device.

Of course, it's difficult to definitively prove that Hogg's homemade contraption the world's first selfie stick, but we reckon it's a got a pretty good shot at the title. If you happen to come across an older one - please do get in touch.

Reporting by Mike Wendling

h/t Douglas Marshall and BBC Radio Cumbria

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Capturing black life on Instagram

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 04:31 UK time, Friday, 19 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Photographer Ruddy Roye uses Instagram to chronicle the experiences of black America.

Ruddy Roye is a photographer who works across all mediums. But he has found an avid following on Instagram, where he has multiple feeds that attempt to chronicle the reality of black life in America.

He sees the recent high-profile deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown as being rooted in law enforcement failing to recognise the humanity of black men. His photos seek to change that perception.

As part of his work he has been chronicling the protests in New York City.

He spoke to the BBC about his work and the challenges of displaying his art on such a small screen.

Defending Sony's 'cowardly act'

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 22:27 UK time, Thursday, 18 December 2014

A billboard for Sony's The Interview is taken down.

The Sony hacking story escalated from embarrassing Hollywood insider gossip to a topic of Grave Concern in a matter of hours, thanks to Sony's decision to pull the plug on The Interview before the film's scheduled Christmas Day opening.

Twitter users, many posting with #TheInterview hashtag, were among the first to pass judgement on the decision, and the verdict was grim.

"With the Sony collapse America has lost its first cyberwar," writes former Speaker of the House, turned pundit Newt Gingrich. "This is a very, very dangerous precedent."

"A sad day for creative expression," tweets actor Steve Carell, who's own movie set in North Korea was scrapped soon after the Interview was pulled.

"This isn't one of those glib 'the terrorists have won' deals," says Collider.com editor Adam Chitwood. "The terrorists genuinely got their way. Bad precedent."

Sony's decision was a "cowardly act", tweets Vox culture editor Todd VanDerWerff.

Not to be outdone, the Weekly Standard issued a "special editorial", saying Sony's decision "could be - unless we reverse course in a fundamental way - a signpost in a collapse of civilisational courage".

Amidst all the garment-rending and teeth-gnashing, however, a few writers are defending Sony's actions and even downplaying the impact of the whole ordeal.

Sony's decision to pull the movie was a reflection of the free market reacting to "the reality of fear", writes Bloomberg View's Stephen L Carter.

"The relevant market actors are moviegoers," he says. "Theatre owners are guessing that with The Interview in their multiplexes, holiday audiences will stay away in droves. From everything."

And they're probably right, he concludes.

Releasing the movie just isn't worth the risk, says Business Insider's Steve Kovach.

"We know these hackers are organised," he writes. "But we don't know how organised they are. Why risk it, no matter how silly the threat may seem?"

New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait says that while Sony is hardly a "profile in courage", the studio isn't at fault here - paper-thin cybersecurity notwithstanding.

"Sony is a for-profit entity, and not even an American one, that effectively has important influence over American culture," he writes. "We don't entrust for-profit entities with the common defence. And recognising that the threat to a Sony picture is actually a threat to the freedom of American culture ought to lead us to a public rather than a private solution."

Chait argues that the US government should guarantee Sony's financial liability or even cover the studio's film expenses and then distribute it on the internet for free.

"The fiscal cost of backstopping Sony, against the backdrop of the federal budget, would be insignificant," he writes.

It's a plan Breitbart's John Nolte endorses as well, calling Sony's decision a "tactical retreat" that allows it to preserve the film as a viable product.

"Once the government has done its job, only then will it be morally necessary for Sony and Hollywood to push back hard against North Korea - hopefully with withering, brutal and devastating satire," he writes.

Others downplayed the seriousness of the threat.

"The ability to steal gossipy emails from a not-so-great protected computer network is not the same thing as being able to carry out physical, 9/11-style attacks in 18,000 locations simultaneously," cybersecurity expert Peter W Singer tells Vice's Jason Koebler. "I can't believe I'm saying this. I can't believe I have to say this."

He adds that calling what the hackers did "cyber-terrorism" goes "beyond the realm of stupid".

"We're not going to war with North Korea over this act just because Angelina Jolie is now mad at a Sony executive," he says. "Acts of war have a different standard."

In the end, writes Vulture's Adam Sternbergh, Sony's decision to pull the plug on The Interview probably has a lot less to do with caving to threats of violence than with the studio executives thinking: "Please, oh mighty lord in heaven, just make this go away."

"Simply put, at a certain point - given the accumulated damage in industry relationships, in corporate practices revealed, in class-action lawsuits from its own employees, in potential liability nightmares - The Interview was no longer the hill that Sony wanted to die on," he says.

If Americans want to get upset over something, he says, they should be less concerned with violence spawned by shadowy hackers and more worried about studios no longer being interested in pushing the bounds of political satire.

"Freedom of expression will no doubt endure, greater battles than this will be won, firewalls will hopefully be secured, and corporate emails will likely get a lot less freewheeling," he concludes.

Just don't expect to see any new films featuring Kim Jong-un in US theatres. Or, for that matter, old ones either.

Reporting by Anthony Zurcher

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Indian official's rage over road works becomes an online hit

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 16:27 UK time, Thursday, 18 December 2014

A district magistrate scolding civic officials and contractors for what she says is shoddy road construction has become an online hit.

Almost a million people have viewed the footage of B Chandrakala, the District Magistrate of Bulandhshahr, giving the group of men a dressing down since it was posted on Facebook yesterday.

"So much money is coming from the government, but can you see even one developmental work in the city?" she says on the video.

One of the people she's addressing protests, but Chandrakala is quick to respond: "Is this the work that is happening? Hit two bricks together and it's over. Is this your work?

"Have some shame," she continues. "This is the public's money."

"We need Officers like this in India!" is the title of the video posted on YouTube, and her performance has been applauded by many viewers.

"Its a shame that we have to be proud of people when they do their job," commented Munish Nainani on Facebook: "Goes to show how far the other bureaucrats have fallen who just don't do their job."

"This is a perfect example to those who think 'what will happen when u give power to a women'," commented Sunny Sengupta on Facebook. "This is what happens when u give power to a women ... they have the guts to stand up against corruption ... ma'am a salute to u."

B Chandrakala told BBC Trending she was on a routine inspection of Bulandhshahr's roads following complaints about the quality of some of the works, and hadn't arranged for the filming to take place.

Rahul Goel, editor of local news website Bulandshahr Express, was one of the first people to post the video on the day the events took place, 11 December.

"The road in question has been constructed and damaged three times already," Goel told BBC Trending. "The road was constructed at night and it would fall apart the next day. Then, it would be constructed again and, again, fall apart. This has happened three times now and people complained.

"We also shared the video on WhatsApp and it went viral in the city. They are hopeful about progress for the first time - they have never seen an official like this before."

The poor standard of road construction is a commonly-heard complaint in India.

Reporting by Samiha Nettikkara

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

The rise of selfie sticks

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 10:41 UK time, Thursday, 18 December 2014

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

"Selfie sticks" - handheld extendable poles for smartphones which help the user take better selfies and panoramas - are fast growing in popularity around the world. But their detractors are growing in number too.

In South Korea, selling an unregistered selfie stick can result in a fine of up to £17,000 pounds. Elsewhere, enthusiasm for the sticks is on the rise. But do critics who say they're a narcissistic scourge on society have a point?

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Cubans tweet reactions to historic diplomatic thaw

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 18:15 UK time, Wednesday, 17 December 2014

Despite heavy restrictions on the internet in Cuba, social networking sites reflect the views of some inside the country in the wake of a landmark agreement with the United States.

Around a quarter of Cubans have used the internet, according to the World Bank, although access is heavily regulated and very expensive.

Immediately after addresses by President Castro and President Obama, a map of tweets inside Cuba clearly showed the main topics of conversation.

Trendsmap snapshot of Twitter trends in Cuba at 1730 GMT Wednesday: among the most prominent tags are the United States ("estadounidense" "eeuu"), Raul Castro, and Alan Gross.

Twitter users inside Cuba who allow their tweets to be located on a map are of course not necessarily representative of the Cuban population as a whole - but many of those sending out messages were in celebratory mood and welcoming the release of five prisoners by the US.

Translation: "Pop open bottles of champagne in every Cuban home. This is something we have to celebrate #FreetheFive #Cuba #LosCinco (The Five)".

Translation: “Live to tell the tale!!! Barack Obama will announce measures on a historic day for Cuba and USA"

Translation: "There are a lot of emotions to hold in. Right now all Cuba is on front of the TV and the radio...TODAY SHOULD BE A GREAT DAY!!!!"

Translation: "How much desire of running, shouting, and going on the streets to hug everyone. Hurray #LosCinco (The Five), hurray #Cuba"

Translation: "How much I want to run, shout and go on the streets to hug everyone. Hurray #LosCinco (The Five), hurray #Cuba"

Translation: "I called the university to say that I won't go today because they [the prisoners] are back. I'm going to buy pizza to celebrate on the roof terrace."

Reporting by Gabriela Torres and Mike Wendling

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

The surprising calm emerging from Russia's rouble crisis

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 15:41 UK time, Wednesday, 17 December 2014

A screen grab from Zenrus.ru

In the midst of spiralling inflation, falling oil prices, and economic sanctions, Russians are turning to … Zen.

It's a simple, calming website showing current exchange rates backed with pictures of clouds and soothing music that's being passed around Russian social media.

Mikhail Lisnyak told BBC Trending that he can't remember the specific moment when he had the idea for Zenrus.ru, but that it was inspired by the panic he saw around him about the rouble.

"I decided that people need to relax a little. So I designed a website where information was displayed with a relaxing screensaver and music," he says.

Translation: "Russian Zen. Since morning I meditate on exchange rates ... let's strengthen the rouble with the help of collective meditation!"

Lisnyak says his site got two million hits on the day of the Russian central bank's dramatic decision to raise interest rates to 17%. Zenrus.ru has spawned a number of imitators including an homage to the apocalyptic final scene of Fight Club and another site that displays scantily-clad women alongside the latest rates.

Lisnyak says it could even earn him a few roubles, volatile though the currency might be at the moment.

"Initially, I spent just one evening making this website, but then when the number of visits began to grow, I had to work hard to make sure the site wouldn't fall down," he says. "But now I'm in talks about advertising. There are plenty of companies wanting to put their ads on the site."

A screen grab from Fight Club/exchange rate mash-up http://joyreactor.cc/kurs

The dark, unique Russian sense of humour seems to be rising to the current economic challenge. One YouTube video compares the rouble to the Titanic, and other jokes are being shared on Twitter and the Russian-language network VKontakte. But the humour comes with a serious edge.

"This time the memes are not quite so hilariously funny because people do understand what's happening is very bad," says Anastasia Denisova, a social media researcher and Russian meme expert at the University of Westminster. "You can't really make fun of an economy because it's too big an issue."

The value of a currency is not as fertile ground for humour as the foibles of politicians and celebrities, but there are some hints online that the economic crisis is reflecting badly on those in power.

"This time there is a lot more criticism of Putin and the government," at least among liberal social media users, she says, although it's too early to tell whether the crisis will hurt the Russian president in the long term.

Reporting by Elizaveta Podshivalova, Samiha Nettikkara and Mike Wendling.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Israeli photographer 'horrified' at use of bloody shoe photo

BBC Trending What's popular and why 17:15 UK time, Tuesday, 16 December 2014

It's a tragic, heartbreaking image - but not for the reason you think.

A photo of a small child's bloody shoe has been widely shared on Twitter and Facebook in the wake of a Taliban attack on a school in Pakistan that's left at least 135 people dead - most of them children.

One tweeter says: "This image says its all #PeshawarAttack".

But the photo is not recent. A search on the photo-lookup site TinEye reveals it has been used in the past by both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Edi Israel took another photo of the same shoe in Ashkelon in 2008, following a Palestinian rocket attack on Israel.

BBC Trending tracked down the photographer, Edi Israel, who says he took the photo while working as a freelancer in Ashkelon in May 2008. In that incident, a rocket was fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel, injuring dozens.

"I'm horrified to know that the picture has moved to Pakistan, and that it's being used like that," Edi Israel says. "This is a known phenomenon that people take a photo from one place and use it like it was elsewhere."

The "recycling" of shocking photos is indeed common on social media in the wake of attacks - for instance we reported on the sharing of old images under the hashtag #GazaUnderAttack earlier this year.

Edi Israel says he photographed the bloody shoe after it was dropped on the ground in a mall by a mother and daughter who were injured in the Ashkelon rocket attack. They both survived the incident; Israel visited them in hospital the following week.

The photographer, who has a long career in the region, says he wasn't aware his picture was being passed around in connection with the Peshawar attack until he was contacted by the BBC.

Meanwhile, another picture has been circulating online of victims of the Peshawar massacre - but the montage of images includes the photo of a young boy, Noah Pozner, who died in the Sandy Hook massacre in the United States in 2012.

Reporting by Gemma Newby

h/t Richard Vadon and Samiha Nettikkara

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

'India with Pakistan': school massacre solidarity

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 16:23 UK time, Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Thousands of Indians are sending a message of support to Pakistan on Twitter in the wake of the Taliban school massacre in Peshawar.

The hashtag #IndiawithPakistan has taken off in a matter of hours, despite the long history of antagonism between the two countries.

The idea was spawned by Tehseen Poonawalla, an entrepreneur and newspaper columnist from Delhi, who was in the gym when the news about the attack started playing on the television channels he was watching.

"The visuals were horrific and I was getting updates from social media as well," he told BBC Trending. "Yesterday, everyone was moved by the hashtag [#Illridewithyou] which came up after the attack in Australia. And I thought it was time for India to stand up and express their support."

He sent the first tweet with the hashtag #IndiawithPakistan at 0816 GMT. Within six hours, the hashtag has been used 8,000 times and the number was growing rapidly.

"When I started it, I did not realize that this would trend," Poonawalla says. I did not even know whether it would be perceived as a negative or positive hashtag. The support has been phenomenal and I think collectively, we need to fight hate. A lot of people from Pakistan have tweeted thanking me for starting this."

But other Twitter users have been critical of the hashtag.

"Nope!" responded user GOL Circle in India.

"Are you serious???" tweeted Manimala, an Indian living in the UK.

Some Pakistani Twitter users have also been critical of the hashtag, like this user who has also changed their image to black in mourning for those killed in the massacre.

"There will be elements in every religion and country who take extreme positions," Poonawalla says in response. "But the fact that this is trending shows that humanity is trending. The majority of people in both India and Pakistan want peace. If people across the world can show solidarity, India can also stand up in support [for Pakistan]."

Reporting by Ruth Alexander and Samiha Nettikkara

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Sydney siege hashtag #illridewithyou and its opponents

BBC Trending What's popular and why 14:40 UK time, Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Many Australians are still showing their support for Muslims using the hashtag #illridewithyou.

The trend started even as the siege in Sydney was ongoing on Monday. But, perhaps inevitably, a backlash has hit Twitter: #iwontridewithyou has been tweeted more than 3,000 times.

Only about a third of the tweets under the new tag are actually coming from Australia - with more than a quarter from the UK, and 15 percent from the US. Tweeters are referencing not only the Sydney attack but the Taliban massacre in Pakistan and other terror attacks.

Typical was user @QueeniesSoapbox who posted a picture taken in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings.

@QueeniesSoapbox wouldn't give her name, but she told BBC Trending that she was an ex-member of the far-right English Defence League.

"I don't like Islam and the teachings of Islam. And I am within my right to have that opinion. And I don't like people trying to silence me," she says.

She says she was upset at the reaction to #illridewithyou, although she acknowledged that some people using that tag had good intentions.

"I don't want to go out and hurt anyone, or ban people from doing what they want to do, or purposely insult their religion," she says - although her Twitter feed does include several sweary attacks directed at Muslims in general (which is why we're not linking to it).

Tweet using the hashtag #iwontridewithyou

Other twitterers were posting graphic images of beheadings and abuse. Several British far-right groups have been tweeting using the hashtag.

The anti-Muslim chatter is however tiny compared to the main hashtag #illridewithyou, which was still trending worldwide on Tuesday, and has been used more than half a million times. Nearly half of those tweets have come from Australia.

Reporting by Mike Wendling

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

#BBCTrending radio: Irish water protests and Egypt's Spiderman

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 10:12 UK time, Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Protesters object to water charges

Stream BBC Trending's latest programme or download the podcast.

This week:

Spiderman in Cairo

This week on BBC Trending we hear what happens when a superhero finds himself in Cairo. It's a project from 20-year-old photographer Hossam Atef, who shot videos of his friend dressed up as Spiderman performing everyday tasks - like trying to catch a bus. The joke is that Cairo Spiderman has met his match, because life is so impossible in Egypt that not even those with special powers can function.

Irish water protests

The Irish Government is changing the way people pay for their water and thousands have taken to the streets to protest. Currently most Irish people don't get water bills - it's paid for through taxes. But now the government has set up Irish Water, a semi-state body, which is installing water meters and will start sending bills from 1 January. Online there are numerous videos, tweets and memes calling for the proposed water charges to be dropped. We hear how people have been protesting online, and whether the government is taking any notice.

'Baby, where is your hair?'

And we speak to the man who makes comedy films about relationships - from a male perspective. Top Rope Zeus' spoof about an African-American woman who cuts her hair off and goes 'natural' has had millions of hits on Facebook, but has received mixed comments. We ask him why he made it and how he responds to criticism that it's sexist.

Presented by Anne-Marie Tomchak

Produced by Gemma Newby and Charlotte McDonald.

You can put us in your pocket and listen anytime by downloading our free podcast. We're on BBC World Service radio at 10:30 GMT on Saturdays.

'I'll ride with you': siege solidarity

By BBC Trending What's popular and why 11:41 UK time, Monday, 15 December 2014

As a gunman holds people hostage in a cafe in Sydney, thousands of messages of support have been posted online for Muslims in Australia who are afraid of an Islamophobic backlash.

The spark was this post on Facebook by Rachael Jacobs, who said she'd seen a woman she presumed was Muslim silently removing her hijab while sitting next to her on the train: "I ran after her at the train station. I said 'put it back on. I'll walk with u'. She started to cry and hugged me for about a minute - then walked off alone'.

The story of Rachael's encounter with a woman in religious attire inspired this Twitter user, 'Sir Tessa', aka Tessa Kum: "If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don't feel safe alone: I'll ride with you. @ me for schedule," user 'Sir Tessa' tweeted. Moments later she tweeted "Maybe start a hashtag? What's in #illridewithyou?"

Thousands of people have now joined the spontaneous campaign, offering to meet Muslim people at their local stations and to ride with them on their journey.

"I saw one tweet that was just a very small act of kindness to a frightened Muslim women on public transport and it pretty much broke my heart," Tessa Kum told the BBC. "And it just seemed like something that there should be more of in the world. I can't say that I planned this at all. It has been amazing to watch this take off.

There were 40,000 tweets using the hashtag #Illridewithyou in just two hours, according to Twitter Australia; 150,000 in four hours. And it's been rapidly growing since.

"Please, if you're going to use #illridewithyou, include journeys and times, make it genuinely useful not just a trendy thing to tweet," was the message from Sydney FC's official Twitter account.

Reporting by Ruth Alexander

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

Accessibility links

BBC iD

BBC navigation

Trending

“Start Quote

Would you unfriend someone for their political beliefs?