Will Smith’s Oscar slap heard around the world, actor Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, and the popular online puzzle game Wordle dominated Google’s most popular search worldwide in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Beijing Winter Olympics, AFC Asian Cup and space exploration top the list of popular searches on Chinese search giant Baidu.
SEARCH YEAR 2022 – GOOGLE TRENDS
In early December, Google released its “2022 in Search — Themes and Insights” report, data highlighting the year’s trending topics.
According to the report, the popular online puzzle Wordle was the most searched search worldwide and in the US, and actor Johnny Depp topped the list of trending people in 2022.
The Depp-Heard trial
Johnny Depp won his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard in June, whose trial began in April last year. Depp sued Heard for defamation in 2019 after she described herself as a “domestic abuse public figure” in The Washington Post in 2018.
A US jury found that Heard defamed Depp and awarded him $15 million in damages. Heard also paid $2 million in damages for a $100 million counterclaim against Depp. Heard was the third most popular person on Google Search this year, and the verdict in the trial was the seventh most popular news topic.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in a courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on May 16, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. /CFP
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in a courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on May 16, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. /CFP
Google’s 2022 list also showed strong interest in the Oscars moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made an onstage joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The American actor was the second most-searched person worldwide, and the infamous incident ranked 9th in the most popular “news” category.
The infamous slap was heard around the world. / Reuters
The infamous slap was heard around the world. / Reuters
International events such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the World Cup in Qatar were also popular searches.
Ukraine was the most popular topic in the “news” category and the third most searched term globally.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was the fourth most wanted person on the list, and the World Cup in Qatar was the most popular “sports term” in the world.
A number of global figures who died in 2022 topped the list, including Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, US comedian Bob Saget and actresses Anne Heche and Betty White.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, died last September at the age of 96. Image Credit: CFP
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, died last September at the age of 96. Image Credit: CFP
SEARCH YEAR 2022 – BAIDU TRENDS
Chinese search engine Baidu has released a list of 100 keywords for 2022, including top news, most searched tech terms, athletes of the year, hit dramas and movies, and online buzzwords.
Beijing Winter Olympics
The year opened with the Beijing Winter Olympics, which made ice and snow sports such as freestyle skiing, figure skating and short track the most popular sports in China.
The mascot Bing Dwen Dwen, a giant panda in an ice suit, became an instant hit on the Internet.
The event also saw the rise of a number of Gen-Z athletes such as Gu Ailing and Su Yiming. The Chinese team won nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals overall, surpassing the country’s previous record.
The Winter Olympics have sparked many online searches. /CFP
The Winter Olympics have sparked many online searches. /CFP
China Space Station
2022 was also a busy year for China’s space exploration, with the crew of Shenzhou-14 and -15 completing their first in-orbit handovers and completing the construction of the China Space Station.
During the year, China’s manned space program completed six launches, sending two Tianzhou cargo vehicles, two Shenzhou manned spacecraft, and the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules into space.
The construction of the T-shaped China Space Station has been completed and has entered a new stage of development and application.
World Cup
In 2022, two football events came to the fore in China.
Despite not having a Chinese men’s team, the Qatar World Cup was a huge trend in China. Data shows that searches for World Cup-related topics have increased by more than 2,000 percent each month, with the final match between Argentina and France attracting the most attention.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar were the most searched footballers.
Earlier in the year, the Chinese women’s soccer team won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, capturing the attention of the entire country and sparking widespread discussion online.
China won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. /CFP
China won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. /CFP
Liu Genghong Girls and Boys
It wasn’t just professional athletes. The year brought public fitness fever as Taiwanese-born singer Liu Genghong took the short video platform Douyin by storm, sharing his fast-paced workout style.
Fans calling themselves the Liu Genghong Girls or Boys began to follow suit and continued to practice during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Words online
Every year, new online words that trend among young people give some insight into the emotions of society and the interests of young people – and in 2022 there were two major newcomers.
The first is 上星嘴替 – ‘online mouth double’, referring to someone who is able to articulate the ideas of others more eloquently than the original thinker could.
The other is 浴Q – transliterated from English “Thank you”, usually used sarcastically to express disappointment or inability to speak.