Hate it or love it, Twitter has become one of the most influential platforms in history. This year, Twitter's most popular tweets occurred during some of the nation's darkest moments. And former President Barack Obama and singer Ariana Grande used their influence to be a light in the darkness.  

After the violence from the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Obama took the high road and dismissed racism and hatred with a powerful tweet featuring a photo of babies from different races looking out a window at him.

That tweet was the most liked and second-most retweeted tweet of the year. It is also considered the most popular in Twitter history.  

The third most "liked" tweet of 2017 came from Obama as well: a brief message showing his support of Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who is currently fighting brain cancer.

  

Ariana Grande's top tweet also came after a trying time this year. The singer's tweet that arrived after the bombing of her Manchester, U.K. concert in May was the second most liked tweet of the year with more than 2.6 million interactions.

And because we know you're curious, here are the most tweeted about musicians in the United States. Notice that Blavity faves Chance the Rapper and Rihanna made the list:

Most Tweeted About Musicians (U.S.) 
1. BTS (K-pop group)
2. Nicki Minaj
3. Harry Styles
4. Chance the Rapper
5. Niall Horan
6. Fifth Harmony
7. Justin Bieber
8. Shawn Mendes
9. Rihanna
10. Ariana Grande

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