- The #MemeOlympics hashtag has started trending after Indian users popularized it on
Twitter . - The hashtag involves awarding satirical "medals" to various figures like actors and politicians.
- It's one of many viral moments to come from the
Tokyo 2020 Olympics .
As the long-awaited Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games commenced on Friday, the world watched and reacted on social media, with plenty of viral content, commentary, and memes. For Twitter users in India - a community colloquially called "Desi Twitter" - the games inspired a viral new trend.
As part of the "
According to an April 2021 survey by data platform $4, India is the country with the third-most Twitter users in the world - an estimated 18.8 million users - behind Japan and the United States.
According to the $4, the #MemeOlympics hashtag quickly started trending on July 25, and continued to do so across the next two days.
-Satya (@absolutesatya) $4
Some Twitter users used the trend to meme celebrities, popular
-Yash Siddhapura (@Yash1701__) $4
-Rkangel (@RitikCh11944490) $4
-Jigar Vyas (@jigar__vyas) $4
-प्रशंसा (@bhakkk_lol) $4
Others went more political with the format, as they used the meme to joke about and criticize politics and current affairs. For example, coupled with a tongue-out emoji, one tweet awarded Nirmala Sitharaman, the divisive Minister of Finance for India, with a medal for "best economist."
-Jaadu (@_jaadu_) $4
-आप छत्तीसगढ़ (@AAPChhattisgarh) $4
#MemeOlympics is just one of many viral moments that have spread across social media during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
$4 went viral on Monday after he and eight other teammates put the athletes' controversial "cardboard beds" to the test. Meanwhile, Julyana Al-Sadeq, who was representing Jordan in taekwondo, went viral on Twitter after users noted $4.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.>$4