KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Malaysia Airlines losing two planes within months was the seventh most-talked about global topic on Facebook this year, according to the social networking site.
“The world took notice when two Malaysia Airlines planes were lost within months of each other,” Facebook said in year-end findings released before 2014 draws to a close.
It highlighted posts by the White House and The Economist, a UK magazine, on the disappearance of Flight MH370 in March with 239 people on board and the July crash of Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in July which killed all 298 on board.
The social networking giant noted that the disappearance of Flight MH370 enroute to Beijing remains one of the “biggest” mysteries in aviation history.
A Facebook post by the White House on July 18 says: “This afternoon, aboard Air Force One, President Obama called Ukrainian President Poroshenko and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib to discuss the tragic crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17”.
“Months later, ongoing investigations produced sparse details on the two incidents. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said his government is determined to continue its search for answers,” said Facebook.
No one has claimed responsibility over the Flight MH17 downing, with the Ukrainian government and Moscow trading blame over the crash that occurred in the restive eastern Ukraine region controlled by pro-Russia separatists.
The topic that generated the most discussion this year on Facebook, as well as in the history of the social networking site, was the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Other top global topics of the year on Facebook were the Ebola virus outbreak, elections in Brazil, actor Robin Williams’ death, the Ice Bucket Challenge, the Gaza conflict, the Super Bowl, the police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, US, and the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
