Hash tags associated with the trial of paralympian Oscar Pistorius have not been trending as widely as anticipated, because of the media hype surrounding the event, which has led to fatigue.
Pistorius is standing trial for the alleged murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day last year. The case has entered its second day at the Pretoria High Court and is - in a ground-breaking ruling - being partially transmitted live around the globe.
However, Twitter interactions show many people are fed up with the massive amount of coverage - which is available across several broadcast mediums and the Internet. Fuseware notes there have been a total of 19 809 mentions of Pistorius from 9 213 South Africans on Twitter, with half of these being made yesterday.
The company had expected Twitter mentions to hit at least 100 000 by the end of the week, making it by far the biggest social media event in SA this year. MD Mike Wronski says there were not a "massive amount" of tweets yesterday and he had expected more.
Influencers
Wronksi says the top shared tweets have come from Eye Witness News and Times Live, while one of the most influential local tweets with 130 retweets came from @karynmaughan: "There can and should be no delight in covering the #OscarPistorius trial. A woman has lost her life. There are no winners, only losers."
This tweet sums up the general sentiment at the moment, says Wronksi, as people feel the media has overdone it. However, he adds, it was still the most talked about topic on Twitter yesterday.
| Most mentioned people: | |
| Person | Number of mentions |
| barrybateman | 2 849 |
| OscarPistorius | 977 |
| karynmaughan | 830 |
| eNCAnews | 828 |
| MandyWiener | 440 |
According to information from Trendsmap, the trial and personalities associated with it are among the top trending topics locally, which is a slight decline from yesterday when these terms dominated, with defence advocate Barry Roux also trending internationally.
The tag #oscartrial is trending in the US and across southern Africa this morning, notes Trendsmap data. The tag #oscarpistorius is trending more widely; across southern Africa, the US, Europe and Australia.
Hashtags.org also notes #oscarpistorius is among the top 40 trending topics and has been gaining traction.
Fakers
The @OscarHardTruth account - which now has more than 32 000 followers - is gaining interest daily. It has been described by media spokesperson Anneliese Burgess as "a key outlet of information" intended to be a "factual sharing platform".
The immense public interest surrounding the trial has resulted in numerous dubious social media accounts linked to Pistorius, one of which was mistaken for a message from the athlete before his court appearance.
| Most active people: | |
| Person | Posted mentions |
| JacaNews | 182 |
| barrybateman | 130 |
| joburgdaily | 102 |
| PretoriaDaily | 95 |
| RoodepoortDaily | 91 |
On Facebook, there are several pages dedicated to Pistorius, including one with auto generated content, which has 28 557 likes; the so-called "official" page with 1 376 likes (up from yesterday's 605 likes); and several others dedicated to covering the shooting and trial.
Pistorius' media team has declared the Oscar Pistorius-Official Facebook page a fake and is attempting to have it shut down.
What twitterers are saying:
This morning's Twitter feed ranged from the insightful to the bland, bizarre and humorous. Here is a small selection:
?@crazywildSA: "Cnt wait for day 2 #OscarTrial @OscarTrial199 ! Woke up early to make a Lekker Breakfast! #INeedAJob."
?@jacoklynsmith: "Half and hour to go before the second day of the #OscarTrial starts #OscarPistorius."
?@alizanadi: "Rain coming down in sheets on Day 2. #oscartrial."
@Jellyboy1968: "#OscarTrial Why was Reeva behind a locked bathroom door? Loving relationship, big house, only couple there? Bit odd or is it me?"
?@braithwaite93: "Thoughts and Prayers to the Pistorius family.. Thinking of you over the next few days #OscarPistorius #OscarTrial."
@Matsobane_C: "But this ---->RT "@eNCAnews: Apparently Oscar sounds like a woman when he screams >> http://www.enca.com/south-africa/oscar-screams-woman-says-defence ... #OscarTrial"
?@liezlthom: "#OscarTrial First state witness Michelle Burger will continue to be cross examined today. When Barry Roux is done, Prosecution will redirect."
?@RoryPetzer: "Michelle Burger seen entering #OscarTrial courtroom carrying a bathroom door and a cricket bat. #newsbyrory."
?@julas14: "What impact do the outcome have on athletics in SA?#OscarTrial."
@WoodworthGeorge: "Neighbours go back to bed after hearing 'gunshots and screams'. This #OscarTrial is exposing SA culture at it's worst!" [sic]
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