Pop culture beats politics on Twitter in 2013
Dec 23, 2013, 4:24 PM | Updated: 4:24 pm
Can you guess the most retweeted message of 2013?
According to Today.com, it was “Glee” star Lea Michele tweeting about her boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith, who had died a few weeks earlier.
Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart. pic.twitter.com/XVlZnh9vOc
— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) July 29, 2013
Fans were so touched they retweeted Michele’s tweet more than 396,000 times.
Sadly, the most popular tweets this year involved death.
The second-most retweeted message of 2013 was the news that “Fast and Furious” star Paul Walker had passed. When fans first heard of Walker’s death, they thought it was a hoax, but this official tweet from his staff made the sad news a reality.
It's with a heavy heart that we must confirm Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident…MORE: http://t.co/9hDuJMH99M – #TeamPW
— Paul Walker (@RealPaulWalker) December 1, 2013
This message was retweeted more than 395,000 times.
Coming in third was One Direction star, Niall Horan, tweeting that he had turned 20.
Yesss ! I'm 20 ! Wohooo ! No more teens!
— Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) September 12, 2013
At least that was happier news, and retweeted by 366,936 fans.
Other highlights of the year included retweets about Miley Cyrus twerking at the MTV Video Music Awards, the lights going out at the Super Bowl, the acceptance speeches by Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lawrence at the Academy Awards, news of a new Pope, the birth of a royal baby, Phoenix’s own Grumpy Cat, Tardar Sauce, and the Boston Marathon bombing.
Noticeably absent this year from the top retweets were tweets about politics.
In 2012, President Barack Obama had the most retweeted message in Twitter’s seven-year history. It read, “Four more years,” and included a picture of him embracing the first lady.
I guess this year the government shutdown, the disastrous launch of the Obamacare website and Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks couldn’t beat a tweet about twerking or turning 20. Interesting isn’t it?
In 2013, pop culture certainly made its mark in the Twittersphere.
