This was in response to the many fires and explosions on Thursday and yesterday in different areas in the South, including Trang, Surat Thani, Hua Hin and Phuket.

Apart from #MothersDay and #LongLiveTheQueen hashtags being included in the top 10 hashtags yesterday, #explosion and #StrongerTogether also dominated. Yet many people stuck with tradition, posting photographs of them with their mother and loving messages.

@eggoexpand wrote: “#PrayForThailand My heart breaks a little more every time I see a new hashtag for another tragedy.

@garbagemurphy wrote: “So sad to hear about attacks in such a beautiful country and one so close to home. Praying for everyone and please stay safe.”

Discussions about Pokemon Go and the aftermath of the draft charter referendum were overtaken by talk about sabotage.

@bona98_ wrote: “Stop linking [the bombings] to the referendum. Not everybody who disagrees with [the draft charter] wants to destroy the country.”

@ssgybs wrote: “Maybe it was the red shirts, maybe it was [former prime minister] Thaksin[Shinawatra], maybe it was a [protest over the] national referendum result. All hypotheses lead to divisiveness. I’m fed up with this.”

While watching a broadcast of national police chief’s press conference, @I0I93 wrote: “National police chief, please wait for the investigation.”

@JEPPblackMIN wrote: “It was well planned. The referendum has just passed and it is Mother’s Day. They chose the day that would severely hurt Thai people. Be safe, everybody.”

@sugarrbella tweeted: “Only advertisements, talk shows, concerts dominated TV programmes. I must follow up the news on Twitter instead, I guess. #Bombs #PrayForThailand.”

@DrPopPop wrote: “People who hurt others do so because they are bored. Therefore, they are recklessly calling for attention. Keep smiling. We can get through this for sure.”

Facebookers, meanwhile, have been posting updates on the attacks since Thursday, with some even posting graphic images of the aftermath. User Uajit Virojtrairatt responded to this by asking people to be more sensitive.

Sakulsri Srisaracam wrote: “The media should report carefully as the information from the media is a key factor in panic management during this critical period. Check before sharing.”

The Royal Thai Air Force posted an image with a caption that sharing graphic pictures was a violation of the victims and affected the country’s image. “Don’t cooperate with the insurgents. Don’t post, don’t share, don’t like any images of violence caused by the nation destroyers. Every time you do this, it is like a double bombing in the heart of Thais.”

Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra and Suthep Thaugsuban, a key leader of the former People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), used Facebook to condemn those behind the attacks.

Other PDRC leaders also posted messages voicing their support of the government and calling for the wrongdoers to be punished. Also, a lot of social media users posted images of the Thai national flag with encouraging messages such as “Stronger Together”, much like the posts in response to the fatal Ratchaprasong bombing at around the same period last year.