Chadwick Boseman and Marcus Rashford among Twitter’s most discussed 2020 topics
8 December 2020, 07:14
The social media platform has released its review of the most retweeted and liked posts of the year.
The coronavirus pandemic, the death of actor Chadwick Boseman and Marcus Rashford’s campaign to end child food poverty were among the most discussed topics on Twitter in the UK in 2020, the platform has revealed.
Hashtags linked to the pandemic, lockdown and protecting the NHS occupied seven places in the top 10 of the year.
The Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd were also prominent, with the subject taking up two of the remaining three most popular UK hashtags, with #loveisland – used for discussion around the ITV dating show – completing the top 10.
But according to Twitter, the announcement of Black Panther star Boseman’s death on his official Twitter page in August was the most retweeted post of the year in the UK, as well as the most liked tweet.
— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020
The shock announcement from the actor’s family revealed he had battled colon cancer for four years, working through the period while also receiving treatment.
It was followed on the most popular retweets list by former Love Island star Dr Alex George calling for hospital car parks to be made free for NHS staff and Manchester United striker Rashford’s open letter to MPs about child poverty.
Controversial but maybe this is a good time for hospital car parks to be free for NHS staff? Retweet if you agree 👊🏼
— Dr Alex (@DrAlexGeorge) March 22, 2020
The England international, who has since been awarded an MBE for his campaigning, features a second time in the top five for his message celebrating the public’s support for his campaign, which led to a Government U-turn over school meal vouchers.
In addition, Rashford was named the top athlete on the social platform for 2020, ahead of fellow footballers Paul Pogba and Lionel Messi, and his community spirit tweet was also the second most liked in the UK this year.
The top 10 retweet list also includes a tweet from Mark McCoy about the death of George Floyd, comedian Matt Lucas’ impression of Boris Johnson and NHS staff trying to keep spirits up during the pandemic.
An Open Letter to all MPs in Parliament… #maketheUturn
Please retweet and tag your local MPs pic.twitter.com/GXuUxFJdcv
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) June 14, 2020
They are joined by a message promoting awareness of how to call 999 if you are not able to speak from @CopThatCooks.
The top 10 is completed by a light-hearted video of a sock puppet eating traffic as someone fights boredom during quarantine, and the video tour of a flat for rent made by its current disgruntled tenant.
