Searches on ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro have bombarded the Buzz. Castro queries jumped 308% yesterday and placed him firmly in our top 100 search terms. Curious searchers also inspired a spike in searches on the long-time president’s biography and news on his current condition.
While rumors of his imminent demise swirl around the Web, some searchers jumped the gun—as evidenced by the increase in searches on “fidel castro dead” and “fidel castro death.” The man known as El Presidente did pass political power off briefly to his brother while he underwent surgery, sending queries on Chief Hermano (and Defense Minister) Raul Castro soaring.
Cuban news outlets including “granma” and “diario de juarez” surged in Search along with the more mundane “noticias de cuba.” Queries on Cuba jumped 246% and were joined by related spikes on “cuban flag,” “history of cuba,” and “cuba libre.” Historical events related to Castro’s reign were also on the rise—searches on “bay of pigs,” “che guevara,” and “cuban missile crisis” all made an impact on Buzz. We’ll be following the search spikes as news filters in from the island nation.
Filed under: Fidel Castro, Cuba
