Social media flooded with emotion, shows of support
ON Friday night, there were terror attacks across Paris. A concert hall, a restaurant and the national stadium were targeted.
Immediately people stuck to social media, especially Twitter, to stay up-to-date with what was happening and to pray for Parisians. The top three hashtag were #ParisAttacks, #PrayForParis and #PorteOuverte.
Social media users around the world expressed their emotions through #PrayFor Paris. For example, Tidarat Kanchanawat (@T_Kanchanawat), the regional director of Adecco Thailand and Vietnam, tweeted: “When the city of light goes dark, the rest of the world lights up for them. #StayStrongFrance #PrayForParis.”
@AdeccoThailand, the official Twitter account of Adecco Thailand, tweeted: “Stay safe everyone in Paris! Our thoughts are with you. #PrayForParis.”
Bill Clinton (@billclinton), tweeted: “My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Paris tonight.”
Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton), tweeted: “The reports from Paris are harrowing. Praying for the city and families of the victims. -H.”
Some tech giants offered services in the wake of the tragedy.
Mark Zuckerberg posted on Facebook: “My thoughts are with everyone in Paris tonight. Violence like this has no place in any city or country in the world. We’ve activated Safety Check, so if you’re in Paris you can mark yourself safe or check on your friends and family: https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/paris_terror_attacks.”
Google tweeted: “We’ve made international calls to France free via Hangouts. #ParisAttacks Android.
Jean Jullien, a French graphic designer, produced photograph of a peace symbol featuring the Eiffel Tower. Jullien posted the photo on @jean_jullien, his Facebook page and his own website. The photo went viral.
Instagram posted the photo on its official account, @instagram, with the message: “Peace for Paris”. Illustration by @jean_jullien #jesuisparis.
Mark Bern, @markbernart, a pixel artist living in Zurich and Berlin, tweeted a pixel photograph of the Eiffel Tower with the words “Love against terror”.
@musicnews_facts tweeted a number of photos, including photos of the Empire State Building and Wembley, using lighting that was the same colour as the French flag.
OutFrontCNN, @OutFrontCNN, tweeted a photo of 1 World Trade Centre in red, white and blue lighting and the message: “1 World Trade Center lit up in red, white & blue in solidarity after #ParisAttacks.”
The mainstream media conducted live reports via of the attacks via real-time blogs. France 24 did a live broadcast on its YouTube channel
The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook and Twitter had provided new tools to allow people around the world to track and discuss the attacks with unprecedented speed and depth.
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