If 2025 taught anything, it’s that the internet craves both the hyper-real and the wildly surreal. While millions fell for the simple charm of a flower-seller at the Maha Kumbh, others were busy deciphering Gen Alpha "brain rot" or experimenting with Nano Banana. It also witnessed scandals that led to CEOs losing their jobs and content creators facing legal trouble.
#1: Mahakumbh viral girl Monalisa
The Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj emerged as the ultimate intersection of ancient tradition and modern digital culture, with social media platforms becoming a virtual gateway to the world's largest religious gathering. Although there were many viral moments from the event, one person in particular won the hearts of the audience. Monalisa Bhonsle, a young garland seller from Indore.
Maha Kumbh 2025 was held from January 13 to February 26.
#2: Taylor Swift’s engagement
The long-anticipated news of Taylor Swift’s engagement finally broke, triggering a global digital earthquake. Within minutes of the announcement, social media platforms were overwhelmed with a tidal wave of "Swiftie" theories, frame-by-frame analyses of the engagement pics, and emotional tributes to her journey. Not just fans, several brands joined the conversation too.
{{/usCountry}}The long-anticipated news of Taylor Swift’s engagement finally broke, triggering a global digital earthquake. Within minutes of the announcement, social media platforms were overwhelmed with a tidal wave of "Swiftie" theories, frame-by-frame analyses of the engagement pics, and emotional tributes to her journey. Not just fans, several brands joined the conversation too.
{{/usCountry}}Taylor Swift, on August 26, shared an Instagram post announcing her engagement to Travis Kelce. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” she posted.
#3: Labubu craze
Though the rise started in 2024, the Labubu dolls became one of the most significant pop-culture items of 2025. The furry elf-like dolls created by Hong Kong-based artist Kasing Lung became a global sensation.
Wang Ning, the CEO of Pop Mart, the company that produced and marketed the Labubu as the collectable "blind box" toy, became China’s youngest billionaire following the success.
#4: Coldplay kisscam scandal
The Coldplay "Kiss Cam" scandal involving Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot became one of 2025’s most explosive corporate controversies. The incident occurred during a July concert at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. When the stadium's jumbotron focused on them during a performance of "Fix You,” Byron, the then-CEO of tech firm Astronomer, and Cabot, the company’s former HR head, were caught in a lingering embrace.
Their panicked reaction to being featured on the big screen, involving Byron ducking from view and Cabot shielding her face, went viral. The fallout was immediate: Byron resigned within days, and Cabot eventually stepped down after an internal investigation.
#5: “67”
Many on social media couldn’t believe it when Dictionary.com announced its Word of 2025, “67”. The Gen Alpha slang, which confused boomers and millennials and was eventually banned at several schools, has its roots in online culture.
Spelt “six-seven” - and not “sixty-seven” - this Gen Alpha slang, despite being widely used, has an ambiguous meaning. According to Dictionary.com, the term, which is “largely nonsensical”, means “so-so,” or “maybe this, maybe that.” It is often used with a “hand gesture where both palms face up and move alternately up and down.”
#6: Gemini’s Nano Banana and ChatGPT’s ‘Studio Ghibli’
In 2025, the internet became obsessed with AI-generated image creation tools by two tech giant companies.
The first one is an image generator released on OpenAI's ChatGPT, which allows people to create artwork inspired by Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese animation studio behind classics like Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro.
The Nano Banana trend started with users transforming photos into lifelike 3D miniatures. However, it soon took over the internet, with people trying numerous prompts to create various AI pictures. Google launched Nano Banana in August.
#7: ‘Prashant' trend
Initiated by content creator Ayush, the ‘Prashant' trend took over social media for a while, leading people to create rib-tickling videos. It involved a humorous misinterpretation of “croissant” as “Prashant”.
The trend went crazy viral, prompting even brands to join in on the conversation.
#8: Louvre Museum robbery
A broad daylight robbery at Paris’s iconic Louvre Museum, which saw eight priceless royal artefacts stolen, shocked the world. A video of the moment went viral online, showing a suspect cutting through the display case while visitors casually walked around.
The video of the robbery, which occurred on October 19, was shared by France’s BFMTV.
#9: India's Got Latent row
A video of several social media personalities, including Ranveer Allahbadia and Apoorva Mukhija, interacting with a contestant on comedian Samay Raina's YouTube show India's Got Latent, went viral, promoting not only social media outrage but also leading to multiple FIRs across states.
The controversy started over Allahbadia’s question to a contestant about parents and sex.
#10: Cracker Barrel logo controversy
When Cracker Barrel unveiled a new logo, what they probably didn't expect was the backlash that followed. The company’s new logo even prompted a tweet from US President Donald Trump, who joined others in criticising the change.
The company later apologised, stating that it would scrap the new logo and bring back the old one.