Talkwalker Market Pulse - Burning Man gets washed out

Your weekly consumer intelligence briefing - September 06, 2023

Burning man mentions ignited

Burning Man is an annual festival celebrated in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, dedicated to themes of community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. This year, the event has made headlines due to torrential rain causing muddy and hazardous conditions on-site, forcing attendees to seek shelter.

Due to the nature of the event, communication within the site is hard with limited internet access. This has led to misinformation spreading around what’s happening on the ground.

What are the burning conversations?

Using Conversation Clusters, we've identified key topics being discussed about this year's Burning Man.

A notable topic was an unfounded Ebola scare, initiated on a forum either as a prank or with malicious intent. The rumor and its subsequent debunking led to over 52,000 mentions across social media and news outlets.

Other conversations included claims that the adverse weather was a form of divine retribution for alleged paganism at the event, a topic that received 10.4K mentions. An additional 5K mentions related to a Ukrainian monument at the festival known as the Phoenix.

As the weather starts to improve and attendees begin to depart, it's too soon to assess the long-term impact of this year's complications on the future of Burning Man. Only time will tell.

Photo by Athena

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