The name of US President Donald Trump has inspired more than 100 punning variations in entries to BBC Radio 2's 500 Words story competition, according to analysis by Oxford University Press. The competition, launched the week Trump took office, saw mentions of his name increase by over 800% compared to 2016.
Young authors aged five to 13 devised words such as Trumplestiltskin and Boggle Trump. Trump appeared in stories about monsters, aliens, and politicians, as well as in space and superhero tales. The research also noted a rise in political terms like 'Brexit', 'fake news', and 'article 50'.
One 12-year-old boy wrote a dystopian story where the US president limits communication to 140 characters or fewer, banning personal interactions and encouraging tweeting of alternative facts. Trump is the latest 'word of the year' from the competition, following 'refugees' in 2016 and 'hashtag' in 2015.
Other trends included social media mentions, with Instagram overtaking Facebook and Snapchat, though YouTube remained most popular. 'Bottle flip' and 'fidget spinner' also featured prominently. The competition, run with librarians and teachers, received 131,000 entries, with winners to be announced on Friday.
