Leo Messi beats the egg: his photo is indeed the one with the most ‘likes’ in Instagram history | technology

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Leo Messi has just won another title in addition to the world champion: he has the most liked photo on Instagram. The photo posted by the footballer on December 18, in which he is seen holding the Argentina trophy in the World Cup, has crossed 57 million likes in just 48 hours. It dethroned the one who had held the record for about four years, with a significant difference compared to the rest of its competitors: the world record egg, or world_record_egg, with 56 million. Messi hit the egg. Yes, the joke stuck with me. sorry.

Let’s go back three years. On January 4, 2019, the @world_record_egg account uploaded its only post to date: an image of an egg, accompanied by the text that reads “Let’s set a new world record together and have the most liked post”. On Instagram, Kylie surpasses Jenner’s current record (18 million)! We’ll get it.” Though now gone, it tagged American TV presenters like Ellen DeGeneres or Jimmy Fallon, as well as social media content niche publications like Mashable or Buzzfeed. A week after it was posted, the post began to go viral And on January 13, he managed to break the record that Jenner held at the time.

Although it may seem very far away to us now – and it may not sound familiar to some -, the egg account became very popular, but it did not invent anything new. formula “Let’s get this post…” is one of the internet classics used in its early days on serious issues (to air grievances, help people or animals…) that ended up becoming a meme. The egg account itself also became a meme: shortly after its launch, hundreds of imitators emerged seeking the photo with the most likes on Instagram to become a poop into a potato. All with little success.

But who is behind the egg? In the first statements @world_record_egg provided, like this one to Buzzfeed, the author called herself “Henrietta” and claimed to be a British country hen. The egg in the picture, according to their answers, was called “Eugene” and was theirs. He continued with the joke for a few weeks—sometimes calling himself “Henrietta” and other times signing himself as the “Egg Gang,” the egg gang—until, in February 2019, he revealed his true identity to the New York Times: the perpetrator was a young, British publicity agent. Chris Godfrey. Soon after, he used the egg as a hero in a spot for the nonprofit Mental Health America, which aired after the Super Bowl.

Why did Godfrey choose an egg? According to what he said New York times“The egg has no gender, race, or religion. The egg is a universal egg.” For many football.

In case you were curious, this is how the top 5 posts with the most likes on Instagram look like Surprised Messi.

1. Messi Lifts The World Cup By @leomessi
2. Eggs, by @world_record_egg
3. Cristiano and Messi “playing” chess by @cristiano
4. Messi standing with the trophy on a bus, by @leomessi
5. Ultrasound of Georgina, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, in a post for both of them.

I’ve been enjoying these weeks internet with…

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