When Belgium requested online silence for #BrusselsLockdown, citizens responded with cat photos

Brussels: When Belgian police requested social media silence during a series of anti-terrorism raids on Sunday, they might have expected a catty response from the Internet. In fact people politely complied but with a surreal twist, as thousands tweeted pictures of their feline friends when the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown went viral. [caption id=“attachment_2517040” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Soldiers stand guard in front of the central train station in Brussels. AFP[/caption] It began when Defence Minister Steven Vandeput tweeted: “Police are asking the public not to report their movements on social media, please support & rt #BrusselsLockdown.” Frustrated and anxious after the city spent a second day on its top state of alert as authorities intensified their hunt for a key Paris attacks suspect, Belgian Twitter users responded bizarrely. Instead of taking pictures of what they could see or describing police operations, they posted pictures of cats. “I think in one hour I’ve seen more #lolcats than I’ve seen in the rest of my life,” said social media specialist Mateusz Kukulka. He said he believed the first to have the idea was a cameraman for the Dutch television channel NOS, Hugo Janssen, who tweeted: “Instead of tweets about police activity in Brussels, here’s a picture of our cat Mozart”.

#BrusselsLockdown So here is a picture of a cat. Much more peacefull. pic.twitter.com/HmDRbxA67T

— Hugo Janssen (@Hoguhugo) November 22, 2015

As the theme caught on, some posted photos of cats looking suspicious, others of cats looking scared. Others in the country of famed surrealist Rene Magritte took a truly surreal tack: user @jaycelight posted a picture of two Star Wars stormtroopers riding hover scooters shaped like cats. As more and more users joined in, there was soon international support too: “Absolutely loving the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag! Amazing. Belgium is awesome. <3,” tweeted @SvenjaLiv from Ireland. Afterwards Belgian authorities thanked the Internet. “The federal prosecutor and the police services must thank the press and social media users for taking into account the needs of the ongoing operation,” prosecutors’ office spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt told a press conference as he announced 16 arrests.

#BrusselsLockdown Let's share some pictures of our cats instead of policemen. pic.twitter.com/LyVCSpDF0O

— Elaine (@LoveMadness) November 22, 2015

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Yes! Mission accomplished! Everyone is tweeting cat-pictures instead of policemen! #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/4XZ9eGQL7N

— Elaine (@LoveMadness) November 22, 2015

AFP