Published on thestar.com

December 29, 2014

10 times social media made headlines in 2014

In a year when the words hashtag and selfie were added to the dictionary, it’s no surprise social media continued to not only spread the news, but make it. From viral hashtags to charity campaigns, public announcements to PR gaffes, here are 10 times social media made headlines or pushed stories further in 2014.

socialheadlines_mainjpg.jpg

1. Jian Ghomeshi goes public with the personal on Facebook

After Jian Ghomeshi was fired by CBC, the former radio host took to his publicFacebook page to explain his side of the story. Ghomeshi wrote he was fired because of “the risk of my private sex life being made public,” the result of a “campaign of false allegations” by a “jilted ex girlfriend” and a freelance writer. Ghomeshi’s post was the first bombshell in a controversy that subsequently saw multiple women make allegations of sexual assault against him. His Facebook and Twitter accounts have since both been deleted.

Related: Twitter conversation about unreported rape goes global

2. #CosbyMeme backfires

Bill Cosby’s attempt at social media interactivity in November drew overwhelming backlash, when a request to his Twitter followers to “Go ahead. Meme me!” gave users the opportunity to highlight past rape allegations against the actor. While Cosby’s initial tweet was deleted, assault allegations and professional fallout have only grown since.

3. #BringBackOurGirls goes viral

When 200 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in the spring, journalists, politicians and celebrities lent their support to a campaign to return them. Prominent figures and celebrities including Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mary J. Blige, Amy Poehler and Piers Morgan helped #BringBackOurGirls trend and draw attention to the situation. Still, some have questioned the utility of such campaigns, as the majority of those girls remain missing.

4. The shirtless jogger wants answers

News cameras caught Joe Killoran’s impromptu run-in with Rob Ford in August, during which the East York teacher passionately demanded answers about some of the mayor’s recent controversies. The video of Killoran, who was out for a jog sans shirt, quickly made the social media rounds so that before anyone knew his name, we knew him as the #shirtlessjogger.

5. Ellen’s Oscar selfie crashes Twitter

No stranger to social media, Ellen DeGeneres couldn’t help but take to Twitter during her Academy Awards hosting duties in March. No tweet got more attention that night than the selfie she took with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, among other A-listers. The oft-imitated snap, which has now been retweeted more than 3.3 million times, was so popular it caused a Twitter outage.

6. Everyone does the ice bucket challenge

There was a time in August when logging on to Facebook or Instagram meant discovering who the latest person was to pour a bucket of water on their head in support of ALS research. And it wasn’t just your personal friends or next-door neighbours opting into the charity campaign. Everyone from Barack Obama to Rob Ford, Taylor Swift to Oprah Winfrey participated. The campaign helped raised over$100 million in the U.S., and $16.2 million in Canada.

Related:

Celebs that hate the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Man with ALS shares moving response

7. The search for (another) Elizabeth Gallagher

What’s a guy to do with a non-transferrable flight in the name of his ex-girlfriend? If you’re Jordan Axani of Toronto, you head to Reddit and other social media in search of a new travel companion with your ex’s name -- Elizabeth Gallagher. Axani succeeded not only in finding another Elizabeth Gallagher for the trip (they departed earlier this month), but in turn became international news.

8. The new McDonald’s mascot goes viral for the wrong reasons

Social media can do wonders for a brand, but when McDonald’s used it to introduce its new animated mascot Happy in May, it elicited a not-so-happy reaction. ‘Scary,’ ‘terrifying’ and ‘McStake’ are all words used on Twitter to describe the Happy Meal box with a face, pictured above. For their part, the fast food chain responded with humour.

9. U.S. Airways’ NSFW tweet

After a customer complained to U.S. Airways via Twitter about a flight delay, a NSFW image involving a naked woman and a toy plane was tweeted from the airline’s accountto the customer. An hour later, the pornographic tweet was pulled down and the airline tweeted an apology. But the image had already been retweeted and documented in screenshots, becoming a textbook case of how not to perform quality customer service via social media.

10. #Illridewithyou during the Sydney siege

While many were glued to social media for Sydney siege updates on Dec. 15, one Twitter user in the Australian city started a hashtag to show support for anyone wearing religious attire who may have feared backlash. @sirtessa created the #illridewithyou hashtag as a way Twitter users could show solidarity, and offer to ride on public transit with anyone who feared they may be targeted.