2023 continues to surprise us with so many events and viral moments. From spy balloons to the ridiculous escapades on Twitter, 2023 remains one of the most entertaining years of all time.
The internet has ensured that all of us get to witness some of the most hilarious yet also very entertaining moments of 2023.
In this article, we will look at some of the viral stories of the year. These are the moments that defined social media in 2023.
Chinese Spy Balloon
In the months of January and February, US and Canadian citizens were on the hunt for a mysterious balloon the size of three buses floating around the East Coast.
It was later spotted off the coast of South Carolina and was shot down. This led to a lot of theories and rumors on social media when the military revealed that the balloon was used as some kind of surveillance by China.
The Chinese government denied these claims and said it was merely a civilian balloon that was blown off course. The entire social media retorted "Sure Jan. Sure."
Hi Barbie!
Many were quite on the fence when a live-action Barbie movie was announced a few years ago. In 2023, the much-anticipated Barbie movie premiered, and everyone on social media was surprised at how good or bad the movie was depending on your political stance.
For many, Barbie was one of the most influential movies of the year and it recently reached the billion-dollar mark.
This solidified how many people loved the movie but there was also a minor group of people namely anti-feminists and right-wing conservatives that tore down the movie for its woke agenda.
Many conservative social media personalities had very critical opinions about the movie to the point that one pastor even used a bat wrapped with a bible to beat down a Barbie doll house.
Elon Musk and Twitter
Late last year, the world was surprised to learn that Elon Musk has bought social media platform Twitter for $44 billion.
Musk then assumed the position of CEO this year and merged it with X Holdings then dissolved all of the platform's board of directors.
X has become one of the most controversial social media platforms now that Musk has taken over and started offering monthly subscriptions for many of the platform's features.
This led to a barrage of complaints but Musk even doubled down on these changes to the platform. It is only a matter of time before people start to look for a better online platform than X now that it has gone off the deep end.
Rihanna's Super Bowl Show
The Super Bowl has always been one of the greatest sports events of the year. It is normally held around the month of February and this year is no different.
The Super Bowl Half-Time Show is always the highlight of the event with music artists displaying their full capabilities in a mini-concert show.
This year, the Super Bowl has tapped Rihanna to perform with delight to her fans. She sang most of her hits on stage and revealed later on that she was indeed pregnant during the performance.
Social media played a huge role in this momentous event even after the show with people showing off their dance moves. Lastly, who would have thought an ASL translator would go viral?
M3GAN
We are truly living in the future when a certain robot is bound to make the headlines early in the year 2023.
When M3GAN came out in theaters in the early weeks of January this year, no one thought that this murderous robot doll would make a splash at both the box office and on social media.
The movie was well-received by critics and the audience and it totally surprised a lot of people, especially in a month when most consider it to be the time when bad movies premiere to slowly fade to obscurity.
The movie was both silly, horrifying, and at times, very socially aware of itself which led to it being one of the most viral moments of 2023.
Everything Pedro Pascal Does
The internet's obsession with the stunning Pedro Pascal came to a fever high during the premiere of his hit show The Last of Us.
The Game of Thrones actor has long been part of a list of hot celebrities with his stint as the titular Mandalorian.
Everything Pedro does is captured on camera and will always become a viral hit.
Whether he is just sitting there doing an interview or gorging on a sandwich, social media will always be enamored by the internet daddy himself - Pedro Pascal.
WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike
In the middle of the year, news broke out that writers for both television and movies went on strike due to unfair wages and the unethical use of AI.
Actors soon followed as more and more production companies started to use AI in their movies. Many actors and even those who play in the background revealed their measly income on social media to the world which brought about the joint strike.
During the strike, everything in Hollywood stood still as the world was left with almost no shows airing or actors promoting their movies to the public.
The strike continued for more than 100 days until just recently when all parties reached an agreement.
Coronation of King Charles III
After the sudden passing of Queen Elizabeth II last year, the royal family was soon to crown the next heir to the throne.
Preparations were made for the coronation of King Charles but social media and the rest of the internet had something else in mind.
People have shown disdain for the royal family throughout the years and social media has made it a point to expose several atrocities.
Even celebrities chimed in and many were invited to witness the coronation and some others were to perform. A lot of these celebrities either declined or just turned a blind eye much to the chagrin of the royal family.
Conclusion
We are now near the end of 2023 but that has not stopped social media and the internet from producing countless meme-worthy viral moments so far. Pop culture fans will surely celebrate how colorful the year 2023 has been. All of us are looking forward to more fun and notable moments for the rest of the year.
