In fact people politely complied but with a surreal twist, as thousands tweeted pictures of their feline friends when the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown went viral.
It began when Defence Minister Steven Vandeput tweeted: “Police are asking the public not to report their movements on social media, please support & rt #BrusselsLockdown.”
As Belgium police hunt terror suspects, the country’s cats go online. Photo: Twitter
Frustrated and anxious after the city spent a second day on its top state of alert as authorities intensified their hunt for a key Paris attacks suspect, Belgian Twitter users responded bizarrely.
Instead of taking pictures of what they could see or describing police operations, they posted pictures of cats.
“I think in one hour I've seen more #lolcats than I've seen in the rest of my life,” said social media specialist Mateusz Kukulka, or @Mateusz.
Some photos, such as this Star Wars inspired post by @jaycelight, took a surreal turn.
