Ghana’s Twittersphere has been nothing but interesting (to be modest) this year. The country had its first social media elections and this created much excitement as expected. However, the year was also dominated by many other things including a number of notable feuds.
So, what were the top trends of 2016? This is a Pulse.com.gh special review of the year on Twitter.
Ghana vs Kenya
Ghana’s longstanding Twitter feud with Nigeria once again happened this year. However, the one with Kenya was perhaps the highlight of Ghana’s Twitter year. Ghanaians on Twitter and the powerful Kenyans on Twitter squad battled it out Twitter; taking digs at each other with memes and jokes. However, the trend took an ugly turn when for some reason both sides saying one side was darker skinned than the other as if that was supposed to be an insult. Nonetheless, if you are bored anytime, just take a look at the #GhanavsKenya
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Kanta vs godMC
Another feud that stormed the Twittersphere was Kanta vs godMC. For the uninitiated, there is a debate about who is the better rapper between the commercially successful Sarkodie and artsy M.anifest. Kanta (by Sarkodie) and godMC (by M.anifest) are the diss songs the two rappers used to claim their superiority over Ghanaian hip-hop. Both sides continue to claim victory.
CNN Get It Right
While this happened late in the year, it makes this list because the interest it generated broke Twitter's bounds into mainstream Ghanaian media and even the international press (including the BBC) reported on it. It followed inaccurate reporting by CNN that gravely exaggerated the country’s economic woes. The report, published after Nana Akufo-Addo was declared the winner of presidential polls, suggested that there was a shortage on food and other life essentials in Ghana. Ghanaians on Twitter took the international broadcaster to the cleaners for what they claimed was an agenda (albeit a conspiracy theory) by the foreign press to portray African countries as backward. CNN eventually made corrections to the story.
Thank You - Abraham Attah
Radio presenters Lexis Bill and Jay Foley had to apologise to the award-wining child star, Abraham Attah after they were accused of mocking his way of speaking English. The teenager did not have to do much defending as Ghanaians did all the work for him.
The drawing child
Another youngster who become a worldwide sensation was four-year-old Jake Amo. A photo taken of Jake in serious drawing mode went viral after it was used as the subject of thousands of memes. A crowdfunding campaign was launched to support Jake and his peers see them through school. It has so far raised 13,500 dollars out of its goal of 20,000 dollars.
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Ignore Gabby’s post – John Mahama
The outgoing president also gave Ghanaian Twitter a lot to tweet about throughout the year. However, a tweet in the early hours of December 8, 2016 perhaps cemented John Mahama’s place on this list. The president’s tweet came after he was taunted by the NPP’s Gabby Otchere-Darko after it was becoming increasingly clear that the president had emphatically lost the presidential election.