LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Michael Jackson has officially become the most popular person on Facebook , with more than 7 million fans on the social networking site . The Michael Jackson Facebook page is now the most popular on the social networking site . Previously , the most popular person on Facebook , with just over 6 million fans , was U.S. President Obama . Over the past week , Jackson 's page has grown from 80,000 fans to just over 7 million , generating the largest response on a Facebook page , the social networking site says . He has continued to gain about 20 fans per second and even more during peak traffic hours , said social media commentator Nick O'Neill , founder of the Social Times Web site . By comparison , actor Ashton Kutcher recently entered a race to beat CNN 's Larry King to 1 million followers on Twitter . Kutcher won and remains the most popular person on Twitter -- but still has only 2.6 million followers . During his memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , California , all 10 trending topics on Twitter.com were Jackson-related . Jackson 's popularity and the viral nature of Facebook fan pages are the primary reasons for the huge fan base , O'Neill explained . He said , `` It 's simply his popularity . Also , as users become fans , the page gets recommended to others , driving the viral growth of the page . `` Michael Jackson is simply the largest celebrity in the world . While he was a controversial figure , he clearly attracts the attention of the global media , '' he continued . The Facebook page has become an online memorial to Jackson , with thousands of comments from around the world ; dozens appear every minute . Free virtual versions of Jackson 's famous glove are the most popular gift on the site , with more than 800,000 sent to members . The huge following leaves the singer 's heirs ( and his record label ) with a massive network to communicate with fans and continue the massive resurgence of interest in Jackson 's music , O'Neill said . `` While Sony has not heavily engaged the fan base on Michael Jackson 's page , they at least have a presence . If your fans are there , you should be there . `` This also provided an ongoing promotional channel for any future products that are released . It 's simply not an option and will become a component of all marketing strategies . '' There have been 2.6 million downloads of Jackson 's music since his death . He has the top two albums on iTunes , as well as three of the top 10 singles . In the United Kingdom , Jackson held 11 of the top 200 album positions and 43 of the top 200 singles , based on sales monitored by the Official Charts Co. for the week ended June 27 . His `` Number Ones '' album topped the OCC album chart after selling 46,400 physical copies and 10,000 downloads . The surge for demand in Jackson 's music looks likely to continue for several months : The fan page has a music player with some of Jackson 's hits and an option to buy them through Amazon .
Michael Jackson is most popular person on Facebook with nearly 7 million fans . Score: 6 Experts say Jackson 's fan base gaining more than 20 fans per second .