It’s the main source of traffic for globalnews.ca and where most engagement happens. Social feeds — like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — give us feedback (positive and negative), lots of opinionated comments, and often times, expletives (but we filter those, FYI).
And, sometimes, social media is the story.
1. @DeptofDefense RTs call for Trump’s resignation
Example No. 1: This “erroneously” posted Pentagon retweet calling for Trump’s resignation — oops!
The story originated when @ProudResister, a U.S. citizen and self-professed activist for truth, humanity and #TheResistance, tweeted Thursday afternoon, “The solution is simple … Donald Trump: Resign from the presidency.”
The @DeptofDefense, the official account of the U.S. Defense Department, retweeted, giving the impression the Pentagon is advocating for the president’s resignation. And before the mistake was undone, the gaffe was screen-capped and shared to 3,000+ followers of keen Washington Examiner editor, @dave_brown24.
The errant click of a mouse — a tweet that was “erroneously retweeted,” according to the Pentagon — became a top globalnews.ca story on Friday; netting nearly 10,000 interactions in just a few hours.
Also see: Donald Trump responds after his Twitter account was taken down by employee on their last day
But remember, it’s easy to fake this stuff, for example, you can fabricate a tweet with fake engagements and make it look like it was tweeted by any user, as explained by @globalnews’ @pcaintoronto in his story: Beware reports based on screenshotted tweets — here’s why (again).
2. @blakeshelton reads mean tweets after Sexiest Man Alive backlash
In other social media news, Blake Shelton responds after being annihilated on social media for being named Sexiest Man Alive (right?)
WATCH ABOVE: The country musician mocked himself by reading mean tweets about his new title.
After People Magazine deemed the country singer this year’s “sexiest man alive,” the Twittersphere responded with outrage.
And at least one Global News reader was just as disapproving.
The haters prompted the apparently not-so-sexy man alive to respond humorously by reading aloud the meanest (read: funniest) tweets in a video and tweeting it with a thank you to the “supporters” and the hashtag #donthatemebecauseimbeautiful
He also jokingly basked in his new title with these tweets:
3. @iamjamiefoxx gives Edmonton charity social-media nod
Not every celebrity tweet is newsworthy, but when an A-lister gives a shoutout to a little-known charity based out of chilly Alberta, people notice.
A chance encounter that happened IRL between @iamjamiefoxx and someone from @SantaEDM at a fitness centre in Colorado led to the celebrity endorsement that the Edmonton charity needed to get closer to their goal of helping 2,000 Edmontonians stay warm this coming winter.
“Let me tell you, there’s a few things that I love. Let me tell you what I love,” Foxx said in a video tweeted after the random exchange with a #YEG charity organizer who asked him to solicit donations.
“Jamie loves Santa YEG. So get those donations going, get those clothes going. Let’s put a smile on people’s face and let’s give back. Peace.”
Not only does Jamie Foxx love YEG, but the city loves him; the story was one of Global News’ top 10 most engaging stories of the week.
4. Kittens thrown from van in Alberta find home thanks to Facebook
And sometimes, important causes gain the backing they need from social media campaigns. A heartwrenching story about kittens being thrown out of a van in central Alberta concluded happily this week thanks to a Facebook post that successfully found a forever home for the unfortunate kitties.
WATCH: SPCA investigating how two small kittens ended up in the middle of a central Alberta highway. A Wetaskiwin man says he saw the kittens being thrown out the window of a truck.
A couple rescued the kittens after they were found on the side of the highway, but when they couldn’t find any kennels or veterinarians who would take in the abandoned animals, they took to social media with the hopes that the pets’ plight might encourage a generous soul to adopt them.
Within half a day, the post was shared more than 8,000 times, and the two tiny furballs were given to a loving home in the end.
Also see: Why you’re seeing ‘me too’ all over your social media feeds
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