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Oklahoma lawmakers have passed a bill banning abortion from the moment of "fertilization." The measure now goes toâ€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…ZG
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The January 6 committee is investigating the tour a Georgia Republican lawmaker gave to visitors the day before rioâ€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…FR
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Marnie Schulenburg, a soap opera actress who documented her journey from becoming a new mother to a cancer patient,â€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…85
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The accused gunman in the mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday, accordiâ€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…6O
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President Biden will invoke the Defense Production Act, among other actions, in an effort to ease the national babyâ€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…H6
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Dow tumbles over 1,000 points and the S&P 500 is hovering on the precipice of bear market territory as US markets câ€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…8R
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the US has reopened its embassy in Kyiv after it closed three months ago aheâ€twitter.com/i/web/status/1…TM
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Twitter shares biggest world news stories this year
There's no doubt this year has been one filled with dramatic news events. There have been global natural disasters and world-shaping revolutions in Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa. There have been deaths marking the end of successful careers and also those of long-time dictators or terrorists.
And some might say 2011 more than any other year was one influenced by you, by what you were saying, what you were doing, what you were sharing and what you were contributing to the news. Some of the major news stories of the year even began with you, whether you were uploading photos and videos from the dramatic Arab Spring uprisings, capturing the devastation after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, or commenting on the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Moammar Gadhafi. In an increasingly mobile world, news rippled through our social spheres at rapid paces this year.
So it is interesting to examine what Twitter has released as its top news stories and trending topics of the year. CNN has also taken a look and created our own year in review. But we want you to vote on what you think the biggest and most important stories of the year were.
In some cases, the similarities between CNN's list and Twitter's list make complete sense. Certain stories were prevalent no matter where you were or where you get your news. But naturally, because certain movements began or were influenced more by social networking or citizen journalism like CNN's iReport (the revolutions in Arab nations, Occupy Wall Street and others), some rank higher on Twitter's list. It's an interesting dynamic between two forms of media that are constantly dovetailing.
Many of the top news stories also found their way into being the top hashtag topics of the year (#egypt, #tigerblood, thanks to Charlie Sheen, and #japan), Twitter reported.
So without further ado, here's a look at some of the stories Twitter says were the biggest topics of 2011. You can read the full list here.
World News
1. Mubarak's resignation
When Hosni Mubarak's decades-long rule over Egypt came to an end in February, Cairo's Tahrir Square was a scene of jubilation, as hundreds of thousands of people celebrated the fall of a man many had feared for years.
The revolution that sparked the topple of Mubarak's regime was powered largely by a social media movement that took an online sentiment and brought it into the streets. People posted videos online, tweeted about the movement and continued to shout their message for all to hear. And now, for the first time since the end of Mubarak's 30-year rule, Egyptians will be able to choose their representatives to the nation's parliament.
2. Raid on Osama bin Laden
Navy SEAL Team Six became part of American military lore when the elite unit raided a compound in Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and the most wanted terrorist in the world who had orchestrated the terror attacks of 9/11. It was a news event that sparked widespread excitement in the United States, where some celebrated the death of a man the country had been hunting for so long.
Besides being a major story, one that is leading in CNN's poll for the top story of the year, it was one that triggered a massive response in social networks with everyone wondering whether it was really true. But Twitter also had an interesting connection to this story. User Shohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual) unknowingly was live-tweeting the raid.
His tweet? "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)." Rare, indeed. And historic.
3. Japanese earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster
The earth shook off the coast of Japan in March, triggering one of the worst tsunamis in years, destroying nearly everything in its path and sending millions fleeing for high ground.
The quake was one heard about around the globe, thanks in part to Twitter's sharing of information, as it became clear there was utter calamity from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake. And Japan found itself dealing with the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility was knocked offline, resulting in a meltdown of three reactors, with radiation leaking into the air and contaminated water spilling into the sea. You helped us share the story, too, by contributing to CNN iReport's Open Story, a collaborative effort of CNN and hundreds of iReport contributors who experienced the quake and its aftermath.
4. Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords
Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head as she met with constituents at a supermarket near Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed in the attack, including a young girl and a federal judge. Many people tweeted about the incident as it was happening, looked to find out more about the suspect in the shooting, Jared Loughner, and prayed for those who were killed and injured. The shooting also sparked a debate about gun laws in the state.
Giffords has awed the nation in her recovery. The congresswoman traveled to Kennedy Space Center in May to watch her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, command the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour.
5. Gadhafi's death
Another uprising that played out on Twitter at a remarkable pace was the rebel's fight for Libyan freedom under the rule of long-time strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
As the battle for key areas raged in the country, including Tripoli, the clashes played out moment-by-moment on Twitter and in live blogs from many news organizations. Gadhafi was eventually killed in October after months on the run from rebel forces and NATO bombardments, news that was also met with great celebration in Libya.
News first began rolling in on Twitter that he had been captured. And then there were reports of his death. Videos began being circulated on Twitter from YouTube showing a man who was believed to be a bloodied and battered Gadhafi. The debate raged online as to whether he was in fact dead. Then following the confirmation of Gadhafi's death, an interesting debate swirled online, too: Was it necessary for us as a world to see the picture of the dead ruler to know for sure that he was gone for good.
On Twitter
On Twitter
@cnnbrk on Twitter
I was lucky enough to be there for the last shuttle launch. AWESOME. Which means I was also in Orlando for the Casey Anthony verdict. Not as awesome.
Here's the most important news
The economy
This guy says it ALL
GUY IN A CAP
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LOVE your art!!!! You're right....it speaks volumes!!
That art sucks.
Don't quit your job at Burger King quite yet...
Awsome art took me a few minuites to realize exactly what it was lol
Somehow, these pretty pictures lose their impact on a phone.
Oh, sorry banasy. I'll try to make them smaller or not do it as much. Morning 🙂
im on a phone as well. Lucky enough to have zoom so i could see it. Very nice if u did it yourself. Still nice
IIndeed 2011 has been a 'wake up' year.
ndeed the people around the world are making their voices heard. Decades of repression, lying and plunder by the ruling elite are coming to an end.
If we the American people can get a breather from meeting our mortgages, credit card payments , pink slips & job hunts, perhaps we may also get a sense of what has been happening and down which path we are being led by those who control our destiny.
Perhaps then we may also drag ourselves away from the Tube for a moment to reflect on our condition & the world that awaits our kids grand kids.
Or perhaps the very factors which hang heavy on our heads & pockets jolt us into a 'wake up' position.
Nice i like the art it gets it across
@ Tcr c2, Thanks
@ banasy stalker, not sure if I should address you? But thanks anyhow.
@ Jaded
Very illustrative. Exactly the current sentiment.
@ saywhat, What did you say? 😉 Sorry, couldn't resist. Thanks, but I'm back to work after being out for 5 days and can't get to the graphics as much today; or reading the blogs for that matter.
@banasy's stalker:
My phone, being the pos it, doesn't have that.
But thanks for trying to help.
@Jaded:
Hey! How are you? Are you going to be named after precious stones forevermore?
strange name i have i know. But see clearly a troll i am not
Why don't we have a Jubilee Year? Forgive the 99% for their debts and let us start over?!?!!??
The media still thinks that social media is what Egypt was all about, even when most people involved were just doing it the natural way and half the "Egyptian" accounts were fake. That's going to end up in the history books–"the day social media drove a revolution." And it's not even true. It's one thing to distort it years later, but here we are, reading it live.
There will also be stories about the number of people who were killed or killed themselves because of Facebook. Ha ha ha.
The news story of the year, without question, is Casey Anthony. New photos of her posted to http://www.wickedimproper.com (wickedimproper . com)