Twitter reveals the top topics Kiwis talked about this year - and the 'Golden Tweet' about our PM

December 5, 2018

Among the top hashtags used by Kiwis this year were #metoo and #fortnite.

What topics were New Zealanders most keen to talk about this year?

Twitter thinks it has the answer: New Zealand politics, the FIFA World Cup, popular videogame Fortnite, the Me Too movement and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Those were the top five hashtags that were used in New Zealand in 2018, the social media giant revealed today.

It is little surprise #nzpol took the top hashtag honours, Breakfast host Hayley Holt opined today as the results were discussed on the show.

"I think the only people who use Twitter are politicians and journalists," she said, as co-host Jack Tame and others nodded in agreement.

Other popular hashtags in New Zealand this year have included #climatechange and #Suffrage125, referring to the 125th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in New Zealand. In Entertainment, tweets referring to TVNZ2 programmes Shortland Street and Survivor New Zealand were also amongst the most popular.

After #WorldCup, the most popular sports hashtags in New Zealand were also what might be expected - #NRL and #Rugby.

Twitter also revealed the most retweeted post in New Zealand this year, which it has dubbed the "Golden Tweet".

"NZ's prime minister is having a baby with a man she's not married to and he's going to be a stay at home dad while she runs the country," the tweet by user Janina Matthewson began. "WELCOME TO 2018, MOTHERF*****S."

The tweet, which was shared nearly 16,000 times, "gives us just a few reasons why New Zealand, with new mother Ardern at the helm, is indeed woke", Twitter said in a statement accompanying the results.

Lorde continues to be the most followed person living in or from New Zealand on Twitter with 7.8 million followers. In a distant second is actor KJ Apa with 1.6 million fans, followed by actor Daniel Gilles, controversial internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and celebrity DJ Zane Lowe.

SHARE ME

More Stories