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Malcolm Turnbull, Pokemon GO Dominate 2016 Aussie Facebook Use

The AFL Grand Final, shark attacks and the U.S. election got us clicking.
The Facebook Australian top 10 has been released for 2016.
Dado Ruvic / Reuters
The Facebook Australian top 10 has been released for 2016.

Fifteen million Australians used Facebook sharing throughout 2016 with all manner of things piquing their interests online from famous singers to infamous senators, sporting glories and social sensations.

And now Facebook has released the top 10 most-talked about topics in Australia for the year to really show what got us clicking over the last 12 months.

After what seemed like the longest, most controversial election period ever, it almost seems normal that the U.S. election came in at number one for Australia, with a whopping 289 million people worldwide generating 10 billion interactions from the day Ted Cruz announced his candidacy on 23 March 2015 through to election day on 8 November 2016.

For the final two candidates, the #I'mWithHer campaign stuck out as a favourite for Hillary Clinton supporters, while one of the most popular Donald Trump posts was a little more food-related.

Mia Garlick, Facebook Director of Policy for Australia and New Zealand, said: "The fact that the U.S. election did not feature in the top 10 most talked about topics by Australians in 2015 suggests that 2016 was the year that got Australians most engaged about the election."

Sticking with the politics theme a little closer to home, our very own Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull finished as the second most-talked about topic for the year among Australian Facebook users -- for the second consecutive year.

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson also made the list at number six, replacing Tony Abbott from the year before as the only other Australian politician to make Facebook's yearly top ten in Australia.

"During the ten week election campaign, Malcolm Turnbull was consistently the most talked about politician on Facebook and Pauline Hanson rose to become the third most talked about politician during the election, behind Turnbull and [Bill] Shorten," Garlick said.

"In total, during the election campaign, 3.7 million Australians had 32 million election-related interactions."

When it came to sport, the Western Bulldogs' incredible AFL Grand Final victory made the list at number seven, with moments such as coach Luke Beveridge's medal gesture dominating much of the conversation among Aussie footy fans.

"Sport always features in the top ten lists for Australians, because we know that Australians love their sports," Garlick said.

"This year, after 60 years, the epic victory for the Western Bulldogs becoming champions had people posting, liking and sharing the intense experience after such a long wait."

Like most of the world, Australians also went social-crazy when it came to Pokemon GO this year, with the popular augmented reality game coming in strong at number 5 on the list for 2016.

Crowds swarmed to collect Pokemon from the day the game was released, often with surprising or dangerous results for die-hard fans who would stumble upon Pokestops in odd areas.

To see the full highlights of the year in Australia, check out the full list below:

Most Talked-About Topics in Australia 2016

  1. US Elections
  2. Malcolm Turnbull
  3. Shark Attacks
  4. David Bowie
  5. Pokemon Go
  6. Pauline Hanson
  7. Western Bulldogs and AFL Grand Final
  8. Brexit
  9. Rodrigo Duterte
  10. Olympics
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