Brussels Lockdown: Radio Silence Request Brings Hilarious Twitter-Storm Of Cat Pics (TWEETS)

Brussels police understand the importance of evolving technology and how with the internet, anything can be aired in real time, which could cause a hindrance to their anti-terror operations. With the Nov. 13 Paris attacks on their minds, Belgium asked that while police conduct anti-terror operations in Brussels on Sunday, that the Belgian citizens to please refrain from taking to social media with everything they hear and see, says Mashable. They asked for radio silence.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said, "We fear an attack similar to the one in Paris."

And from this request comes the most ingenious idea yet. Users did indeed comply with police requests while Brussels was on the highest state of terror alert lockdown. To ease the tension felt since the Paris attacks, Belgian residents filled Twitter feeds with pictures of cats - keeping the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown. So far, more than 205 thousand tweets share that hashtag, as the response was overwhelming. Cat picture after cat picture filled the internet. Those that didn't have cats, found internet cats and meme cats to continue their media frenzy, which was an enormous success. People around the world got in on the action too, to show support and solidarity.

The pictures of adorable kittens, cats, cats dressed up, cat cartoons, cats as Jedi knights and superman (or supercat) filled the "Twitterverse," showing the lighter side of a nation uneasy, says International Business Times. As the police raids continued through the night in their city, the kitty images kept coming through.

While following potentially dangerous leads, Brussels police were very successful in the operations with 16 arrests, while the residents of Belgium continued to send cat pictures, according the Bustle. The lockdown is expected to continue at least through Monday.

Tags

Paris, France, Belgium, Brussels, Twitter, Hashtag, Cats, Kittens, Memes, Terrorist, ISIS