The Year in Social Media
Ozempic Mania
Weight loss drugs made their way to the online set this year, with some influencers casting stigma aside and unabashedly proclaiming their Ozempic use.
Djerf Dupe Drama
Matilda Djerf, a popular Swedish influencer and a founder of the fashion brand Djerf Avenue, irked fans when her team started reporting TikTok videos that mentioned places to purchase dupes — inexpensive copies — of her pricey designs.
Rocky Hockey Romance
Drama rippled through a niche literary community — fans of hockey romance novels — when Felicia Wennberg, the wife of the N.H.L. player Alex Wennberg, said that certain book lovers had become “predatory and exploiting” in their comments about her husband.
Bud Light Backlash
In April, the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney partnered with Bud Light for a video promoting the brand. The online ad featuring Ms. Mulvaney angered many conservatives, who called for a boycott. As sales of the beer plunged, the musician Kid Rock posted a video that showed him shooting a stack of Bud Light cases. Months later, TMZ posted a video of him drinking the very same beer at a concert.
Taylor Made Travis Famous. Right?
The football star Travis Kelce was already a household name before he was romantically linked to one of the most famous women on the planet. This fall, as a prank, many women filmed themselves telling men — usually husbands or boyfriends — that Ms. Swift was going to put Mr. Kelce on the map. Based on the videos, it seems like every guy took the bait.
Arielle Chapin, Nancy Coleman, Anna Foley, Jessica Grose, Becky Hughes, Natasha Janardan, Joumana Khatib, Ran Lee, Phoebe Lett, Lauren McCarthy, Jordyn Holman, Callie Holtermann, Tanya Sichynsky, Dodai Stewart, Remy Tumin and Lindsey Wiebe contributed reporting.