The Ice Bucket Challenge on Facebook

Update on 9/7/14: Between June 1 – September 1, more than 17 million videos related to the ice bucket challenge were shared to Facebook. These videos were viewed more than 10 billion times by more than 440 million people.

The Facebook data team analyzed the viral activity seen on the platform related to the ice bucket challenge between June 1 – August 17.

Over 28 million people have joined the conversation about the ice bucket challenge including posting, commenting or liking a challenge post.

2.4 million videos related to the ice bucket challenge have been shared on Facebook.

The spread structure is centered around Boston – the maps below show the reach in the United States and the reach in the northeast region of the United States. Many attribute the challenge to former Boston College baseball player, Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, which could explain the concentration in Boston.

TheIceBucketChallenge_USA

TheIceBucketChallenge_NE

Each line represents at least 10 connections between nominators and nominees for the challenge from June 1 – August 13.

The challenge has now reached almost every country in the world, here are the top ten countries in order of participation:

  1. United States
  2. Australia
  3. New Zealand
  4. Canada
  5. Mexico
  6. Brazil
  7. Germany
  8. Philippines
  9. Puerto Rico
  10. India
Public figures have generated a substantial portion of the engagement around the challenge since June, even Facebook’s own Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg participated and nominated friends this week.

Here is a collection of some of the top posts from public figures:



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