He may not be the new king of pop, but with more than 35 million Twitter followers, Justin Bieber is the undisputed sovereign of social media. Five unsettling Twitter trends started by his fans:
1. #RIPJustinBieber: In spring 2012, Justin Bieber went quiet on Twitter for a matter of hours. Soon after, news of his demise was trending, with millions of fans tweeting their condolences. Hours later, Bieber tweeted, “The craziest stuff happens when I get on long plane rides. lol. Im ALIVE.”
2. #Justinisbeautifulinsideandout: After this hashtag and a subsequent Facebook page emerged, preteen girls around the world contributed millions of breathless posts and tweets, listing the 19-year-old’s many aesthetic and moral virtues with a fervour that bordered on religious.
3. #Justinisourlightwhen: With this hashtag, the border was boldly crossed. Millions faithfully tweeted about the power of Justin’s light with great veneration; Kim Jong Il would have been embarrassed for him.
4. #HappybirthdayJeremyBieber: Jeremy Bieber is Justin Bieber’s father. If you already know this, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your priorities in life.
5. #Cuttingforbieber: When this hashtag started trending in early 2013, the transition from fandom to death cult was finally complete. Started as a hoax on the infamous website 4chan, preteen girls were encouraged to cut their wrists and arms to convince Bieber to stop smoking marijuana. Followers also tweeted photos of their bloody arms as proof of their devotion.
Sources: Twitter; Facebook; Cracked.com; Examiner.com