2020 Year in Review and Top Pop Culture Moments

This year brought a wave of surprises which united us all and made us realize the power of doing ‘More Together’ while practicing social distancing. As we prepare ourselves to embrace what the coming year has in store for us, here is a quick recap of some of the moments that united people across our family of apps.

Our India-specific and global top moments of 2020 are sorted into six themes to offer context into the ways people shared and experienced them:

Icons: People came to Facebook to commemorate the figures who left a lasting legacy around the world.

• Kobe Bryant’s passing was this year's most discussed moment on Facebook, with the US, Mexico and Philippines sharing the most posts and photos celebrating his life.
• Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was commemorated in more than 6 million posts in one day across Facebook and Instagram, with many using the hashtag #restinpower.
• The passing of prominent personalities including Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Pranab Mukherjee echoed deeply in the conversations in India.

COVID-19: Under extraordinary circumstances, communities found ways to connect, learn and grow.

• Throughout March, more than 1.5 million Spaniards posted to express their gratitude for medical staff using #aplausosanitario.
• Instagram and Facebook Live views doubled in Italy when lockdowns hit, as residents sang on balconies and broadcasted under quarantine. Meanwhile, in the US, Facebook Live viewership jumped 50%, with many tuning into fitness classes, connecting with artists and more.
• Live broadcasts from Pages in India have tripled in June 2020 compared to the same time last year
• With the launch of the fundraiser feature in India, our ‘I for India’ fundraiser concert witnessed over 85 artists raise funds for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social Awakening: Our global community elevated important issues that mattered to them more than ever.

• In the three weeks following George Floyd's death, conversations around Black Lives Matter tripled, with an average of 7.5 million mentions on Facebook every day.
• With 1.8 million members, The Blackout Coalition — a FB group supporting Black businesses, is the No. 1 largest group among US users.

Faith & Community: People used our platforms to build and maintain community, even at a distance.

• Communities rallied to shop local, as more than 47 million stories using the “Support Small Business” sticker were created on Instagram globally in the past 3 months.
• With in-person services on hold due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the holiday week of April 6 (Easter and Passover) was the biggest for group video calls on Messenger and the most popular week of Facebook Live broadcasts from spiritual Pages, ever.
• With Diwali being a big cultural moment in India and social interactions taking a virtual route, more than 4 million people across the country made over 7.5 million posts and comments about Diwali on Facebook from October 20th till November 10th.
• Uniting the whole nation as well as cricket enthusiasts from across the globe, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was a big conversation driver registering as many as 10 million mentions on Facebook led by fervent fans around the world.

Global Politics: With stakes high, people came to our platforms to make their voices heard:

• Kamala Harris’ Vice Presidential selection announcement was the most mentioned moment in August, drawing more than 10 million posts in one day. Further to that, her Indian lineage acted as a catalyst for conversations in India around her appointment.
• Nearly all adults on Facebook and Instagram in the US saw access to our Voting Information Center, which offered authoritative information on how to register to vote, and well as key facts about voting deadlines.

Environmental Causes: Our global community came together to build a better world:

• More than 1.3 million people globally contributed to the years’ largest Facebook fundraiser — and our largest ever — raising more than $35 million to provide relief for those affected by the Australian wildfires.
• To date, more than 2.6 million people have raised more than $87 million through Facebook Fundraisers this year to combat climate change, promote ocean clean up, animal protection efforts, and much more.
• In India, communities witnessed fundraiser concerts including ‘#BeForBENGAL’, held on World Music Day to raise funds for the victims of Amphan, along with many others.

Top Pop Culture Moments:

New for 2020 is our curated top 10 Pop Culture Moments, which highlight the most fun, wild and lighter moments that brought a little bit of levity to a crazy year. These much-talked-about moments generated some of the highest levels of interaction across our apps, and include the following:

• Michael Jordan’s “The Last Dance” documentary
• Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special
• Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP”
• Harry Styles - Golden song release
• Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA Championship
• Katy Perry announces her pregnancy via music video
• “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion
• Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl halftime performance
• Netflix’s “Tiger King”
• Andrea Bocelli’s Easter performance from Milan, Italy

Methodology:

The top themes for this year’s Year in Review were determined by looking at the top 30 moments of the year for India and global, and identifying commonalities across those moments and the ways people used different product features and tools, such as Fundraisers and Groups. The top moments of this year’s Year in Review were determined by combining the top single-day moments throughout the year with the top ways people used Facebook to come together around these moments. Data reflects Facebook’s Apps activity from January 1 to October 31, 2020.