Here’s our latest update of what went viral on social media in Sri Lanka and around the world last week.
This week our team wrote about;
Our Blogs
- Global Content Creation for TV; where is content creation for television headed globally?
What went Viral in Sri Lanka?
- Extreme weather
One piece of news that got everyone’s attention last week was the extreme weather conditions that continued to put people in danger. With a rising death toll, continuing rains, strong winds and many accidents, the serious storms that brewed in Sri Lanka through the course of last week was something that was discussed in social media by everyone.
Weather-related incidents bring tragedy and loss – death toll rises.#lka #WeatherSL #ExtremeWeather #News1st https://t.co/ZDiEhIlk0r
— News 1st (@NewsfirstSL) December 1, 2017
- When superstition met nature
In direct relation to the extreme weather that was beating down on the island, was the superstition that the slaughter of the infamous elephant, ‘Dala Puttuwa’ has angered nature and that the dangerous weather conditions were nature’s way of teaching a lesson to humanity. While there is zero evidence to back up such a nation, the news is something that managed to go viral in Sri Lanka.
- President’s tweet in Korean language
During his visit to Korea, President Maithreepala Sirisena tweeted in the country’s official language,getting over 3000 retweets and more than another 3000 likes on Twitter. The people of Korea seemed to be genuinely thrilled at this gesture.
스리랑카와 한국의 외교관계 수립 40주년 기념식은 두 나라의 새로운 영예로운 양자관계와 협력의 장의 시작입니다. pic.twitter.com/OSdRSMiT2o
— Maithripala Sirisena (@MaithripalaS) November 30, 2017
- Provincial election
In the face of the pressure that the JVP applied upon the government asking them to remove the petition that would delay the upcoming provincial elections. The request to remove the petition from the courts has been put into motion as per the latest reports. The video on Facebook that reports the ongoings of the matter went viral on social media last week.
This Week’s International Hubbub
- Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters
The crowning of Miss Universe 2017, Demi -Leigh Nel-Peters from South Africa went viral on Facebook with more than 2.2 million views. The Sri Lankan contestant for the Miss Universe title created history by becoming the first ever contestant from Sri Lanka to be chosen into the top 16 finalists after 65 years. The contestant, a fashion designer for her own humanitarian clothing brand XTINA, is Christina Peiris.
- Ivanka Trump at India’s GES 2017
The annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit was held in Hyderabad recently with Ivanka Trump attending.
Thanks Entrepreneurs #GES2017 best ever! Terrific energy, 53 sessions, over 250 speakers, 53% women entrepreneurs. Super investor/entrepreneur interactions.Thanks @PMOIndia 4 driving #GES. Thank you @IvankaTrump 4 leading US delegation, @KTRTRS for being a brilliant. co -host . pic.twitter.com/tkYB3srfiN
— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) November 30, 2017
Insta of the week
- Evergreen Sigiriya
Sigiriya is one of those ancient sites in Sri Lanka that will never fade in glory or splendour. This image shared on Instagram by Atlasobscura received over a 1000 likes and many comments proving the same.
What’s Trending?
- The latest Avengers trailer
With over 79 million views and counting the Marvel Studios Avengers Infinity War official trailer was trending across YouTube last week.
- Jobs lost for job well done
The video uploaded on the Balanna Watinawa YouTube channel spoke of an incident where the President was not allowed entry into the National Hospital of Sri Lanka out of visiting hours until the President himself assured the hospital security that it really was him in the vehicle. While the gates were opened promptly then, the two security officers have now lost their jobs for actually doing their job right.
Stats of the Week
Gossip Lanka News has ranked among the top five fastest growing community Facebook pages in Sri Lanka many times before and they have managed to top the ranks this time as well, along with a well-coordinated and maintained YouTube channel in tow.
Gossip Lanka News YouTube Channel statistics are as follows:
Total Subscribers -1,259
Total Videos -25
Total views -576,466
The Informatics Institute of Technology ranked among the top five fastest growing society Facebook pages in Sri Lanka. The page seems to have boosted an internship opportunity advert on their page which could be the reason behind the growing interest about the page. However, they do not maintain a good relationship with their YouTube channel and given that this is an educational institution, they actually may not have much need for it.
Informatics Institute of Technology YouTube Channel statistics are as follows:
Total Subscribers -228
Total Videos -64
Total views -91,266
Things You Should Know
- Facebook is using selfies as login authentication for suspicious activity
Facebook is asking a certain amount of its users to upload a selfie in order to verify their authentication or identity. However, the feature seems to have been popping along in certain instances as early as April according to Reddit users.