TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In 2017, various topics became trending topics on Indonesian social media “from Ramadan to social issues to serious topics to entertaining ones,” Twitter Indonesia Country Industry Head Novita Jong told a press conference titled #RameDiTwitter (Trending on Twitter) yesterday in Jakarta.

Here are Indonesia Twitter’s top 10 trending topics of 2017.

1. Ramadan

Indonesians shared their moments during the fasting month with the hashtag #Ramadan, #Sahur and #Ngabuburit. Some 118 million tweets on the holy month of Ramadan were posted across the globe.

2. The 2017 simultaneous regional elections

Candidates used social media to disseminate their programs during the simultaneous regional elections campaign period. There were 11.2 million tweets on the topic since January 1. During the election days, some 1 million tweets were sent.

3. Indonesian Independence Day

The celebration of Indonesia’s 72nd Independence Day was widely discussed on Twitter by Indonesian netizens.

4. Jakarta election

Jakarta election was also trending among Indonesian tweeps. Twitter was one of the main sources for election news and a place where they can voice their opinion on candidates and their programs.

5. Bangtan Boys Concert in Jakarta

K-pop group Bangtan Boys (BTS) has fanatic fans in Indonesia. During their Jakarta concert, Indonesia Twitter was flooded by tweets from A.R.M.Y—BTS fans—on the experience.

6. Ahok blasphemy case

Former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) has been sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy. The hashtags #Ahok, #BebaskanAhok (Free Ahok) and #KamiBersamaAhok (We Take a Stand with Ahok) were widely used on Twitter Indonesia’s timeline. Ahok is also named the most popular politician on Indonesia’s Twitter.

7. Death of goalkeeper Choirul Huda

The death of Persela Lamongan FC captain, goalkeeper Choirul Huda during the match against Semen Padang prompted messages of condolences from tweeps both at home and abroad.

8. Setya Novanto graft case

Politician Setya Novanto has been named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Indonesian younger generation expresses their opinion by posting memes and funny hashtags, such as #ThePowerOfSetnov #SaveTiangListrik and #IndonesiaMencariPapah.

Setya Novanto had a traffic accident involving a utility pole (locally known as tiang listrik) which prompted the creation of a new account with handle name @TiangListrik_ID.

9. Raisa-Hamish wedding

The marriage of singer Raisa and actor Hamish Daud became trending on social media. Many dubbed the occasion ‘Hari Patah Hati Nasional’ (National Broken Hearts Day).

10. Kahiyang Ayu-Bobby Nasution wedding

The wedding of President Joko Widodo’s daughter was widely discussed by Indonesia’s Twitter users. The discussion on the event went viral on the social media platform with the hashtags #JokowiMantu (Jokowi has a son-in-law) # BobbyKahiyanWedding and #KahiyangBobby.

ANTARA