Facebook releases 2020 Year in Review

The Facebook Year in Review will give you a glimpse into some of the key social media moments of 2020, sorted into themes to offer context into the ways people shared and experienced them.

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People came to Facebook to commemorate the figures who left a lasting legacy around the world.

Joseph Shabalala’s passing in February left South Africans saddened. The star was best known for establishing the multi-Grammy-Award-winning music group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo from the 1950s, which flagged Zulu music to global listeners.

Zindzi Mandela, the sixth daughter of Nelson Mandela, is one of the discussed moments on Facebook. She is among the many famous South Africans we lost this year.

Covid-19

Under extraordinary circumstances, communities found ways to connect, learn and grow.

In March, South Africans gathered on Facebook platforms and stood together as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Africa Day saw South Africans unite in a show of resilience at a difficult time for everyone in the world – one of the top moments discussed by South Africans on Facebook.

Global politics

With stakes high, people came to Facebook platforms to make their voices heard.

Kamala Harris’ Vice Presidential selection announcement was the most mentioned moment globally in August, drawing more than 10 million posts in one day.

Faith and community

People used Facebook platforms to build and maintain community, even at a distance.

Palm Sunday in April saw South Africans turn to Facebook platforms to celebrate their faith at a time they could not join their congregations in the real world.

Top culture moments

New for 2020 is Facebook's curated top Pop Culture Moments, which highlights some of the most fun, wild and lighter moments that brought a little bit of levity to a crazy year. These much-talked about moments generated some of the highest levels of interaction across our apps, and include the following in South Africa:

• Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP”
  
• Game between FC Bayern and Barcelona
  
• Netflix’s “Tiger King”

Commenting on the Year in Review, Kezia Anim- Addo, head of Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa at Facebook, says: “During a year filled with challenges and social distancing, our Year in Review captures the multitude of creative and inspiring ways our communities have come together through the Facebook family of apps. No matter where in the world you live, the shared experiences of 2020 brought us together, even while we were apart, with digital platforms helping us to stay connected.”

Methodology

The top themes for this year’s Year in Review were determined by looking at the top 20 moments of the year, and identifying commonalities across those moments and the ways people used different product features and tools, such as Fundraisers and Groups. The top moments of this year’s Year in Review were determined by capturing the top single-day moments throughout the year, and finding the top ways people used Facebook’s apps to come together around these moments. Data reflects activity from 1 January 31 to October 2020.