Top Twitter trends of 2020 worldwide: hashtags, emoji, people and likes

While YouTube skipped its infamous Rewind this year in connection with the unpleasant events of 2020, Twitter apparently didn’t get it. The social network summarized all Twitter trends of 2020 with the hashtag ‘#ThisHappened’.

Last Monday, the company posted a blog post disclosing the most liked posts, top trending hashtags / topics, most retweeted posts and most used emoji.

Hashtags
The most used hashtag of 2020 was, unsurprisingly, # COVID19. The second most popular hashtag this year was #BlackLivesMatter, linked to the historic protests against racial inequality and police brutality following George Floyd’s death. The #StayHome tag came in third because users around the world encouraged each other to keep their distance in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

People
There was also a lot of twittering about specific people. George Floyd was third on the Most Twittered List. He died when Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignoring Floyd’s insistence that he couldn’t breathe. His death inspired a huge number of people to protest and forced companies and governments around the world to see how systematic racism worked in them.

The first and second most tweeted about people were President Donald Trump and future President Joe Biden. Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this year, was the fourth most-tweeted person, followed by former President Barack Obama and K-pop sensation BTS.

Emoji

This year’s most popular emoji were the tears of joy emoji and the crying emoji. The puppy-eyed emoji ended up in third place.

Gratitude

Despite this year’s largely tragic events, Twitter noted that users had a “sense of gratitude and support for their own and other communities.” By 2020, tweets with gratitude increased by 20 percent worldwide, 135 percent more talked about doctors / doctors and 30 percent more about teachers.

The most liked tweets of the year:

Giving a ‘Like’ on Twitter does not necessarily mean that you like something. Funny tweets are of course always appreciated, but it can also mean congratulating someone or wishing a lot of support.

1. Announcement of Chadwick Boseman’s death

pic.twitter.com/aZ2JzDf5ai

— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020

2. Barack Obama honors Kobe Bryant

Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 26, 2020