#M7Challenge
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About
The #M7Challenge is an African Twitter Photo Fad and Photoshop meme in which users playfully skewer a picture of Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni sitting in a chair taking a phone call on the side of a road.
Origin
On July 12th, 2016, Museveni posted a series of photos of him taking a call and chatting with citizens on the side of the road connecting Uganda to Tanzania through Isingiro to Facebook[1] with the caption:
On the way from Isingiro District where I had presided over the World Population Day celebrations yesterday, I stopped at Kyeirumba Village to make an urgent phone call and also had a brief chat with the residents. They thanked the government for tarmacking the road that connects Uganda to Tanzania through Isingiro. The 74km road cost Shs178 billion. The residents also asked that government engages solar panel distributors to reduce cost. We shall follow up on this.
The post has over 2800 likes and reactions as of July 26th, 2016.
Spread
Shortly after Museveni's post, journalist Rachael Akidi posted the pictures to Twitter.[2] A little over two hours later, Twitter user @ReliqOhmuwezi[3] tweeted a picture of himself in a blue lawn chair with a phone with the caption "The #M7Challenge @HiledMPrince @deotiba."
Twitter jumped on the challenge, and the trend was covered the same day by The Guardian.[4] The trend was also reported on by many African news outlets,[8] and picked up by Western outlets CNN[6] and the International Business Times.[7]
Besigye Cover-Up Conspiracy
Some Twitter users and journalists noticed the viral spread of the #M7Challenge coincided with the release of opposition leader Kizza Besigye from prison on bail, two months after he was was arrested for treason after calling the February elections in Uganda a sham. This led to speculation that the #M7Challenge was orchestrated to overshadow news of Besigye's release.[9]
Kenyan Comedian's Death
On Saturday, July 16th, 23-year old comedian Cosmas Yatich was killed on the Thika Super Highway when he was hit by a speeding car as he attempted the #M7Challenge in Ruiru.[5]
Various Examples
Search History
External References
[1] Facebook – Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
[2] Twitter – Rachael Akidi
[3] Twitter – #M7Challenge First Use
[4] The Guardian – Ugandan president stops to make roadside phone call. Twitter explodes
[5] WAZA! – DEEPLY SAD! M7 Challenge Gone Wrong As Comedian Gets KILLED By A Speeding Lorry In Ruiru
[6] CNN – Uganda's president stops by the road to make a call, sparks copycats and Twitter memes
[7] The International Business Times – Uganda President Yoweri #MuseveniPhoneCall goes viral: The funniest memes
[8] Google – #m7challenge
[9] Africa Research Institute – Museveni's Misdirection: Reading Between the Lines in Uganda
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