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.
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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.
