Twitter India posted #ThisHappened2020 on Tuesday, a recap of the top Twitter moments in India in 2020. These included Vijay’s selfie with fans from February 2020 (most retweeted) and Virat Kohli’s tweet on Anushka Sharma’s pregnancy (most liked). Hashtags that dominated 2020 included #Covid19, #SushantSinghRajput, and #Hathras.
Twitter India wrote in a statement, “2020 was a unique year for everyone, which means conversation on Twitter was unique too. As the world grappled with a global pandemic, Indians took to Twitter to stay informed, connected and entertained while talking about their passions, re-discovering interests and having diverse conversations.”
Twitter is calling these – the most liked, retweeted, and quoted tweets of 2020 – the “Golden Tweets”. With only 23 days left in the year, here’s a glance at these top tweets:
Most Liked Tweet
Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team captain, had the most liked tweet. On August 27, Kohli shared a selfie with his partner, actor Anushka Sharma, announcing that she was pregnant. The tweet had more than 6,40,000 likes.
And then, we were three! Arriving Jan 2021 ❤️🙏 pic.twitter.com/0BDSogBM1n
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 27, 2020
Most Retweeted Tweet
Actor Vijay’s selfie in Neyveli was the most retweeted in 2020. While shooting for Master, Vijay had taken a selfie with hundreds of fans in Neyveli on February 10. The tweet was retweeted more than 1,45,000 times.
Thank you Neyveli pic.twitter.com/cXQC8iPukl
— Vijay (@actorvijay) February 10, 2020
Most Quoted Tweet
Mentioned over 43,000 times on Twitter, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan’s tweet that he had tested positive for Covid-19 was the most quoted.
T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited ..
All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020
Most Retweeted in Politics
On April 5, Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister, tweeted to ask Indians to light lamps during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a symbol of hope. The tweet was retweeted more than 1,05,000 times.
शुभं करोति कल्याणमारोग्यं धनसंपदा ।
शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तुते ॥ pic.twitter.com/4DeiMsCN11— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 5, 2020
Most Retweeted in Sports
On August 20, former cricket captain MS Dhoni thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending Dhoni a letter of appreciation for his contributions to cricket. The tweet was liked more than 3,30,000 times and was retweeted over 78,000 times.
An Artist,Soldier and Sportsperson what they crave for is appreciation, that their hard work and sacrifice is getting noticed and appreciated by everyone.thanks PM @narendramodi for your appreciation and good wishes. pic.twitter.com/T0naCT7mO7
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) August 20, 2020
Most Retweeted in Business
On March 28, Ratan Tata, the former chairperson of Tata Sons, tweeted that he was pledging Rs 500 crore towards medical support for India during Covid-19. The tweet was retweeted over 50,000 times.
The COVID 19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time. pic.twitter.com/y6jzHxUafM
— Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) March 28, 2020
Most Tweeted Emojis
The most tweeted emoji was the tearing-up-with-joy emoji, followed by the praying emoji. The heart-for-eyes emoji, thumbs-up emoji, and the crying emoji were also frequently tweeted in 2020.
Source: https://blog.twitter.com/
Most Tweeted Meme
Binod, a meme started by the YouTube channel SlayyPoint, was the most tweeted meme. In a video about weird comments, the channel owners looked at a comment left by the user Binod Tharu. The comment simply read, “Binod.” Binod was soon trending on Twitter.
Hey @SlayyPoint, how’s #Binod? Would you please let him know just how much he memes to folks on Twitter? #ThisHappened, #Binod became the most Tweeted meme on Twitter in India this year. https://t.co/QSCuhNtS6O
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) December 8, 2020
Most Tweeted Hashtags
With the pandemic impacting life across the country, #Covid19 dominated conversations. Twitter even dedicated a search topic to help access information on the pandemic from credible sources, such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare of India (@MoHFW_INDIA) and the World Health Organisation (@WHO).
Recommended
The second most-discussed topic was #SushantSinghRajput. The Hindi film actor was found dead at his residence in Mumbai on June 14. Since then, there has been a lot of media and social media attention on speculations about his death.
#Hathras was the third most-discussed topic on Twitter. On September 14, a 19-year-old Dalit girl was brutally assaulted by four upper-caste men. She was then hospitalised, but succumbed to injuries two weeks later and died. The incident and the subsequent handling by the government led to widespread protests and a national conversation about caste-based gender violence.
The most tweeted movie-related hashtags of the year were #DilBechara, #SooraraiPottru and #SarileruNeekevvaru.
For sport-related Twitter conversations, the T20 cricket tournament IPL (Indian Premier League) dominated with #IPL2020, #WhistlePodu and #TeamIndia.