Obama sets ‘likes’ record on Twitter over Charlottesville violence

Former US President Barack Obama’s anti-racism tweet has gained a record number of likes and an enormous amount of shares.

What has become the most ‘liked’ tweet in history was posted in the wake of violent protests and a car-ramming incident in Charlottesville, Virginia, which left one person dead and dozens injured.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion,” Obama tweeted on August 12. The number of likes is approaching 3 million, while around 1.2 million people have shared the message and 46,000 have commented on it, as of Wednesday morning.

The record-breaking tweet was the first in a series of three tweets, quoting former South African President and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.

“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love… For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite,” two other tweets read, both of which have more than 1.1 million likes so far.

US President Donald Trump’s Twitter response to the tragic events in Charlottesville has garnered only 190,000 likes. Trump’s initial reaction prompted outrage from critics who wanted him to specifically criticize the far-right – widely regarded as pro-Trump.

Obama’s tweet broke the record of 2.7 million likes, posted by American singer and actress Ariana Grande following a deadly terrorist attack at her concert in Manchester in May.

The third most popular tweet is a selfie taken by American comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres during the 2014 Academy Awards.

This is not the first time a social media post from Obama has gone viral. An address to supporters on Twitter during his last days in office got more than 1.8 million likes, making it the fourth most liked tweet ever, according to tweet tracking website Favstar.

“Thank you for everything. My last ask is the same as my first. I’m asking you to believe – not in my ability to create change, but in yours,” Obama wrote on January 10, just 10 days before the inauguration of Donald Trump.

READ MORE: Trump condemns ‘display of hatred, bigotry & violence on many sides’ after Charlottesville clashes

Despite being a Twitter-addict himself, the current president seems to be less popular – Trump has two-and-a-half times less followers, almost half of which are fake, according to TwitterAudit, an authenticity checking site. DonaldTrump Around 90 percent of Obama’s followers are real, according to the website.