The festival of lights, Diwali was a major online trend this week. The US midterm elections were also widely discussed. Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, also was the subject of trolling because of a spelling mistake made on live television.
Happy Diwali
The festival of lights was celebrated by Indians around the world. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, shared a Diwali greeting on his official twitter account in both English and Hindi. Social media users shared posts about their celebrations and greetings on the occasion, using the hashtags #UAEDiwali and #HappyDiwali.
Tweet: @subhashnair4: #UAEDiwali celebrating the festival of lights in the city of ever glowing lights...
US elections
As the US midterm elections took place and led the Republicans to hold the Senate, and Democrats to take control of the House of Representatives, it was a widely discussed trend on social media this week. Social media users shared posts of them voting and encouraged others to take part and vote as well.
Tweet: @PillaiPriy: It’s incredible that the #USMidtermElections have the world waiting with bated breath - and that’s something that should be so local can impact the international! Honestly, it’s exhausting for the rest of us, so all empathy and support for my American family and friends...
Dissenters sacked
The Narendra Modi-led government removed three members from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) society and appointed four new members. Many twitter users in India have criticised the central government since the new appointees, including controversial journalist Arnab Goswami, are right-wing supporters.
Tweet: @ZimplyRajan: Well, Arnab Goswami is appointed Trustee of NMML, but big question is, can he be trusted!!!???
Unfortunate typo
Pakistan’s state-run news channel PTV ran “Begging” dateline instead of “Beijing” on screen during the live broadcast of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech in China and it became a target of trolling by netizens. Social media users shared screenshots of the broadcast and also made creative memes of the mistake.
Tweet: @MJibranNasir: When our PM is on a foreign official trip he is representing all of us. We must always criticise a PM for his flawed policies but let us not ridicule him for the fun of it. If you condemned PTI supporters for doing same in past then you should not mimic such behaviour. #Begging
Air pollution
#DelhiAirPollution was a trending topic as tweeps commented on the extreme levels of air pollution in New Delhi, India. Social media users shared their thoughts on the health impact of Delhi residents and urged the Indian government to take action.
Tweet: @gt_nlp: These apocalyptic levels of pollution were expected. What happened to pollution alerts ... ?