Trust netizens to make light of any serious situations. 'World War III' started trending soon after the US launched a targeted airstrike on the Baghdad airport which killed top Iranian General, Qasem Suleimani. Within hours of the airstrikes, Google' search engine was shot up with the phrase 'World War III'. Even Google Trends showed 'Iran' as the second most searched term in the United States.
US Air Strikes on Baghdad
US retaliated with the airstrike days after Iraq-based US Embassy was attacked by Iran-sponsored militia on New Year's eve. Apart from Suleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, senior commander in Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Units, also died in the airstrike.
The death of Suleimani, head of Iranian Revolutionary Guards who held Tehran's influence across the Middle East, has led to a dramatic rise of tension between the US and Iran. Reacting to the attack, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that tough revenge would be taken for Suleimani's death with a resistance movement to continue with double motivations.
Pentagon, in its statement, said; "General Suleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Suleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world."
Twitter flooded with the possibility of World War III
Soon after, Twitter blasted with World War III memes and jokes. The artwork included memes, photos, videos and graphics used by the netizens to show their fear to a possibility of a third World War breaking out soon. "Me after seeing "World War 3" "World War III" "Before WW3" and "Iran" trending when I've been saying 2020 gonna be MY year," wrote one user.
One user wrote, "Me and all the men under 6 feet after being too short to get drafted into World War 3." A fan of Rihanna tweeted, "You all have me out here fighting for World War 3 when I haven't finished working on my new album!"
One commented, "If World War 3 happens, the Wizarding World is staying out of it. Deal with it yourselves, Muggles." Another tweeted, "Me logging onto twitter and seeing World War 3, Iran, Russia and China, Middle East, and Franz Ferdinand, all trending at the same time."
Another wrote, "Me coming out my World War 3 bunker in a couple years." One tweeted, "Me laughing on all these World War 3 jokes but I'm low-key worried."
Here are some of the memes that are trending on Twitter:
