ice bucket challenge

Social media giant Facebook revealed Tuesday the most talked about topics of 2014 around the world with the main topic the World Cup.  Other topics in the list included the Gaza conflict, the Ice Bucket Challenge, the Ebola Virus as well as Sochi Winter Olympics.

A man accepts the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

CPD Blogger Di Wu breaks down why the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral.

This may be the best Ice Bucket Challenge to combine the viral video craze with what’s in the news right now.  Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have been mocked by one social media user who has imitated what an ISIS member would look like if he were to accept the challenge.

This Week in PD Social Media

Social media and digital diplomacy have dominated the week in PD.

With terrorists running rampant in Iraq and Russian convoys violating Ukrainian borders, the U.S. State Department is fussing over a new unnerving threat: its own diplomats taking the “Ice Bucket challenge.”  The ice bucket challenge is this summer’s social media fad with a philanthropic twist (donations go to the ALS Foundation, which funds research to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease).

It's been the social media hit of the summer — some of the world's biggest celebrities dousing themselves with buckets of ice water to raise money for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The charity stunt has lured athletes, celebrities, politicians and rock stars and gone viral on the Internet, but don’t look for US diplomats to get in on the fun.