6 Influential Worldwide Hash Tag Movements

When Chris Messina used the hashtag for the first time back in 2007, little did he imagine the meaning and power that a mere sign will acquire in the coming years. For him, the # BarCamp hashtag was just a way to collect Barcamp discussions and online exchanges. Now it's 2019; whether it's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, for worldwide recognition, every major social media platform uses this symbol extensively. Not only are ordinary people using it for fun chats, but renowned people use it to spread agendas to the masses. With each passing day, the already infinite number of hashtags on social media is added to a new set of hashtags.

6 Influential Worldwide HashTag That Have Gone Beyond Social Media

Social media platforms have witnessed enormous waves of activism over the past few years that have changed our way of perceiving hashtags. People are now actively using hashtags to discuss social issues and begin discussions across regions.

#MeToo: Activist Tarana Burke was the first to use this hashtag in 2006 to promote' empowerment through empathy.' However, #MeToo went viral in 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano went to Twitter encouraging other women to share their story of sexual harassment and assault. It was spreading like wildfire.

Sexual misconduct has allegedly been accused of many prominent names, and this has shaken the world. # MeToo became the largest social media movement in 2017 with more than 12 million posts in just one day. Following his success, #MeToo spread to various countries such as France, Spain, Italy and finally hit the shores of India in September 2018. Several women have been coming out with their #MeToo stories ever since. The movement has significantly unwrapped the stigma attached to talking about sexual assault publicly and aims at ending the patriarchal society's culture of violence.

#NotInMyName: In 2017, these four words sparked India's national movement. Following Junaid Khan's stabbing after an argument about beef, filmmaker Saba Diwan used the hashtag #NotInMyName on Facebook. Diwan urged people to stand up against the nationwide lynching of Muslims and Dalits. In various Indian cities, including Delhi, Kolkata, Allahabad, the protest was demonstrated.

#HumFitToIndiaFit: The hashtag #HumFitToIndiaFit is a fitness challenge in a tweet introduced by Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, who challenged the prime minister again, took it up. Also, several other celebrities entered the mania of Twitter and posted their pictures accepting the challenge as well as nominating others. Sonakshi Sinha, Saina Nehwal, Deepika Padukone, Varun Dhawan, Sushant Singh Rajput, and are among the prominent names that took up the fitness challenge.

#IceBucketChallenge: A popular hashtag associated with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge movement, #IceBucketChallenge started spreading awareness and raising money for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) donations, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The hashtag went viral in 2014 and millions of people, including renowned people like Bill Gates and George W. Bush, have taken over since then.

#BlackLivesMatter: This one came from a heartfelt post on Facebook after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's shooting in 2012. The hashtag resulted in a U.S. civil rights movement and was used on Twitter 30 million times–an average of 17,003 times a day. The movement is campaigning against black people's violence.

#HeForShe's been a trendsetter for gender equality in the 21st century. Many about things are being broken, and women in the world are getting the rights they deserve. While many movements aim to shake patriarchy's centuries-old roots, the campaign' He For She' remains one of the most popular to date.

# HeForShe seeks to involve boys and men in the women's equality movement, backed by eminent personalities Emma Watson and Justin Trudeau. The hashtag brought together many supporters, to name a few, in countries like the United States, Mexico, Rwanda, the United Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These are just the frontrunners; there is a constant increase in the list of powerful hashtags. Some of the famous ones are, among others, #PrayForParis, #BringOurGirlsBack, #LoveWins, #RefugeesWelcome. All these hashtags and the awareness they brought across the nations show their power. Hashtag Activism' is now a game changer that brings people from different parts of the world together