World War 3 Trending on Twitter as Russia and Turkey continue Talking Tough

Use of the phrase “World War 3” picked up after a Russian fighter jet was shot down by Turkey near its border with Syria on Tuesday. It has been tweeted more than 21,000 times over the past week.

Despite the alarmist nature of the trend – and the seriousness of recent world events – a quick glance at the phrase shows that it has spiked in popularity in the past. Pope Francis, for instance, has warned about a “piecemeal” World War Three on several occasions dating back to last year. The attacks in Paris earlier this month also prompted another wave of online panic.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara will not apologise to Russia for shooting down a Su-24 bomber jet.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin described the Turkish attack as a “stab in the back” carried out by “accomplices of terrorists.”

Russia claims flight data shows that the Su-24s never entered Turkey, and were attacked while performing legitimate maneuvers over Syria.

On Tuesday, Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24M Fencer bomber. One of the pilots has been confirmed dead by Russian authorities, shot by rebel ground units after ejecting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a “stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists.”

Russian Su-24s are flying more missions around Syria

SOURCES – Sputnik News, BBC News