A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Pope: X users are continuing to look back on Pope Francis’ legacy following his death.
Earth Day: People are celebrating the planet and demonstrating support for environmental protection.
Kawhi: Kawhi Leonard led the Los Angeles Clippers to a Game 2 victory in the first-round NBA playoff series.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
Ice Bucket Challenge (2025 version)
What It Is: After over a decade, the Ice Bucket Challenge is back. Created in 2014 to increase awareness of ALS, and raise funds to battle it, a flurry of social media users are once again drenching themselves in freezing water for a good cause. This time, though, a group of students at the University of South Carolina is shining a light on another cause: mental health. Launched on Instagram in March, this iteration of the Ice Bucket Challenge asks participants to nominate others to join — and encourage one another to speak openly about different aspects of mental health. More than $100,000 has been raised for D.C.-based nonprofit Active Minds since then, and the conversation is only growing in volume.
Brand Takeaway: What generates massive conversation on social is almost bound to reemerge years later as a new version of itself. Sometimes it’s best to look to the past, and what gripped people’s collective attention then, when trying to effectively spread a message today. Nostalgia plays a huge role in this (we all remember the original 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge videos) and can help turn a good idea into one that transcends decades of internet consciousness. Brands should lean into this approach, whether supporting a cause or speaking to their online communities, and remix or repurpose what has historically evoked the most energized response from fans. If something isn’t broken, don’t fix it!
Examples: 1, 2, 3
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
Oscar voters are now required to watch all nominated films in their respective categories for voting eligibility 🗳️
Megan Thee Stallion was the most mentioned artist on X/Twitter during Coachella 2025, followed by Charli xcx 🎤
The COWBOY CARTER Tour kicks off in one week 🤠
‘A Minecraft Movie’ has surpassed $700M worldwide 🎟️
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