Germans, Others are Frustrating Munich Attackers on Twitter by Posting Cat Pictures
We've all heard about cat pictures on social media. Now they are being used to combat terrorism!
We have all heard about cat pictures on the Internet. But as a weapon against terrorism?
Germany is currently enduring its second suspected terror attack in a week, and our prayers are with the people of Munich.
With the incident unfolding and as many as three armed suspects believed to be on the loose, German authorities asked residents to NOT post any pictures of police activity on social media or any speculation that could aid the killers and compromise police efforts to safely bring them to justice.
Please don't take Fotos or Video of Police Action in order to avoid any helpful Information for the suspects. #munich #gunfire #oez
— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) July 22, 2016
So what did the Germans do? They started a new trend (or, rather they reused an old trend).
They started filling Twitter with cat pictures.
https://twitter.com/Xrichard1995X/status/756573443370385412
https://twitter.com/webO_o/status/756564454108721152
Es wurde nochmal gefordert keine Bilder zu posten. Dann kommen die Katzen wieder #Muenchen pic.twitter.com/aXxCXK7U19
— Satrun (@YTSatrun) July 22, 2016
Rough translation: “It was once again stressed not to post any pictures. Ok, here come the cats again!”
Cats, not pictures of police at work #München pic.twitter.com/Z2lfJiwSlE
— Laura (@laurainholland) July 22, 2016
My cat's reaction to all the stupid posts regarding #oez #muenchen…
CATS AGAINST HATE! pic.twitter.com/1zZtr0DH8D— ⚓Jan B.🕹️ (@janbpunkt) July 22, 2016
Vorbild Brüssel: Katzen statt aktuelle Einsatzbilder tweeten. Fool the attackers! Wer macht mit? #münchen #OEZ pic.twitter.com/BY7C2o4hCR
— Katrin Matthaei (@KatMatthaei) July 22, 2016
Rough translation: “After Brussels’ example. Tweet cats instead of police pictures. “Fool the attackers!” Who will follow us?”
Cats against hate! Don't share pictures of police activities, it could help the subjects. #München pic.twitter.com/gyMtLK4ljB
— Sven (@sven42xyz) July 22, 2016
Note: if you want to follow this trend, at least for the present, you need to search for the German hashtags for Munich, not the English ones. #Munich does not show much. But #München or #Muenchen will help you. To get even more specific, throw the word “cats” into the search.
Our prayers are with you, Munich!
https://twitter.com/inkthya/status/756565128666083328
