Yahoo News Sir David Attenborough breaks Jennifer Aniston's record as fastest Instagram user to reach one million followers
Sir David Attenborough has beaten Jennifer Aniston to become the fastest user to reach one million followers on Instagram, which he did in just over four hours.
The broadcaster joined the platform on Thursday in a bid to share his environmentalist views with a larger audience.
In his first post, a short video, the 94-year-old described saving the planet as “a communications challenge”.
“I’ve been appearing on radio and television for the past 60 years, but this is my first time on Instagram,” Attenborough said.
“I’m exploring this new way of communication to me because, as we all know, the world is in trouble.”
The post was widely shared across Instagram, with celebrity supporters like Andy Murray welcoming the broadcaster to the platform.
Now, the Guinness Book of World Records has confirmed that Attenborough has broken a new record.
The organisation confirmed the news in a comment on Attenborough’s post, writing: “Congratulations Sir David - a new record for the fastest time to reach one million followers on Instagram.”
In October last year, Jennifer Aniston became the fastest person to accrue one million followers on Instagram, which she did in five hours and 16 minutes.
The 51-year-old actor joined the platform and within hours after her first post, a selfie that featured Friends co-stars Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry, Instagram reported it was experiencing technical difficulties.
Attenborough’s video has been watched more than eight million times.
He currently has 2.5 million followers.
In his video, Attenborough explained that over the next few weeks, he will be sharing videos on his account to explain key environmental issues and how we can overcome them.
“Join me, or as we used to say in those early days of radio, stay tuned," he concluded.
In a statement, the World Wide Fund for Nature confirmed that two of Attenborough’s key collaborators, Jonnie Hughes and Colin Butfield, will help him run the account.
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