Everyone is tweeting about World War 3 after America kills top Iran general

The United States killed Iran’s top general Friday, which inspired a wealth of reaction on social media about the future of the world.

What’s going on: Global powers expressed worry and concern about the state of world affairs following the United States’ airstrike near Baghdad’s airport Friday, which killed Iran Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The White House defended the strike in a tweet, saying Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

France’s deputy minister for foreign affairs, Amelie de Montchalin, said on a radio program: “We are waking up in a more dangerous world. Military escalation is always dangerous. When such actions, such operations, take place, we see that escalation is underway.”

World War 3: The term “World War 3” began trending online Friday after the airstrike. Here’s a quick look at Google Search data showing the rise in searches related to the phrase.

Social media reaction: Twitter users immediately jumped in on the discussion, posting memes, GIFs and jokes about a potential third World War. Here’s a collection of them.