Celebrities Drive Social Media Mentions Amid Gun Control Protests
WALKING THE TALK: This weekend’s March for Our Lives gun control protests generated strong social media traffic, according to analytics firm Talkwalker, which tracked posts in a 24-hour period through to Saturday at 3 p.m. EST.
Within that period, there were more than two million social posts related to the protests, and the firm noted that celebrities helped drive the bulk of the traffic. According to #NeverAgain, organizers of the protests, which were in response to a school shooting in Florida last month, there were more than 800 separate events held with most kicking off at noon local time on Saturday.
In Washington, D.C., organizers estimated more than 500,000 participants. Celebrities in attendance who spoke and performed included Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson. In New York , Paul McCartney spoke to participants, encouraging their cause, according to media reports.
Talkwalker said the top social post on Saturday was from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with an Instagram post that had more than 400,000 likes. By Sunday morning, the post had more than 1.1 million likes.
“I’ll always stand for open dialogue and action — it’s the only way to ensure bad history doesn’t repeat itself,” Johnson said in the post. “When it comes to protecting our children, all bets are off and the responsibility lies with us adults and lawmakers to listen and do.”
In the 24-hour period Saturday, Lady Gaga wrote the second most liked post relating to the protests with more than 350,000 likes. By Sunday morning, the post, which touted “protect kids not guns,” attracted more than 613,000 likes.
Trending hashtags on Saturday, according to Talkwalker, included #MarchForOurLives with 1.8 million mentions, #NeverAgain with more than 267,000 mentions and #GunControlNow with over 66,000 mentions.
For more business news from WWD, see:
In Price Fight Between Walmart and Amazon, Bentonville Wins
Today’s Consumer: Frugal, Community-Minded and Tech Savvy
Amazon, Wal-Mart and Apple Top List of Biggest E-commerce Retailers
Related stories
Consumer Preferences for Low Prices Fade While Desire for Better Experiences Rise
Report: Wayfair, Levi's Lead in E-mail Marketing Methods
Sourcenext Sees Its 'Pocketalk' Translator as Consumer Solution -- and Business Tool
Get more from WWD: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
