How Can One Hashtag Make A Million Of People Care? 📱🌎 People generally used to spread the word about an issue through newspapers, TV or organised protests a few years ago. Now all it sometimes takes is a hashtag#️⃣
One hashtag can quickly go viral on Instagram, TikTok, X and many other platforms within hours. All of a sudden, millions of people who haven't met, are commenting all on the same post, talking about the same event and having the same discussion. Well, let's just say I'm pretty impressed 😮. How does one tiny "#" symbols manage to bring together so many people from different countries, backgrounds and experiences? It was the same question that introduced me to hashtag activism.
When A Hashtag Becomes A Public Space 💬 People will mostly think that the hashtags are just labels that are used to organise posts online. You click on a hashtag to see some related content and continue your day. But hashtags actually do something much bigger than that.
According to Agustya et al. (2023), hashtags can create what are known as hashtag publics, temporary communities where strangers gather around shared conversations, events and social issues.
It is similar to a modern town square🏙️, except people are connected through their screens rather than sharing the same physical space. This idea is also connected to Ojala and Ripatti-Torniainen (2023) concept of networked publics where digital technologies allow people to gather, communicate and engage in public discussions through online platforms.
Black Lives Matter: A Movement That Became A Hashtag ✊🏾 Before discussing #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd, it is important to understand that #BlackLivesMatter already existed long before 2020.
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was created by activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi as a way to challenge racism and police violence against Black communities.
Over time, the hashtag evolved into a global movement that brought attention to exposes the issue like discrimination, police brutality and racial inequality.
People from different countries were able to engage in the same conversation through hashtags, videos, news articles and personal stories.
#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd And The Moment The World Paid Attention 🌍 The Black Lives Matter movement was already a recognized movement, but gained unprecedented global visibility after the death of George Floyd in May 2020. George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, United States. A bystander recorded the incident on a smartphone and the footage quickly went viral across social media platforms.
The video was viewed by millions of people with many using hashtags #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd and #BlackLivesMatter to share the information and demand accountability. This case has quickly expanded from regular social media users. Celebrities and large corporations posted statements on social media to show support while promoting petitions, and encourage discussion about racial justice.
Many people also changed their profile pictures, posted black squares as part of the #BlackoutTuesday campaign 🖤 and shared Black Lives Matter resources to show solidarity.
Meanwhile, thousands of people were protesting and demonstrating both online and offline to show the power of social media conversation turning into action.
Companies like Nike, McDonalds, L'Oreal, Cotton On and Ben & Jerry made a statement on social media and public figures also used these platforms to express support for the movement.
Why Did It Spread So Fast? 🚀 At first glance, it might seem like hashtags become popular because lots of people start using them. It relates to the concept of "platformisation" that refers to how digital platforms, algorithms and infrastructures increasingly shape the way society communicates (Poell et al., 2019). In other words, social media platforms are not just passive spaces where content sits waiting to be discovered. Their algorithms help determine what people see, what becomes popular, and what reaches a wider audience
The Algorithm Is Part Of The Story 🤖 Most of us do not actively search for every post we see. Instead, the platforms will constantly provide content to our feed based on engagement and popularity. Algorithms will continue to promote powerful content to more users when it starts receiving comments, shares, reactions and so on. This is exactly what happened with videos and posts related to George Floyd's death. Content spread quickly since people were interacting with it and platform algorithms boosted its visibility as well 🌐.
It also impacted by platform algorithms for visibility and reach. If it weren't for this amplification, many conversations might never gain global attention. But Not Every Hashtag Survives ⌛️ At the same time, not every hashtag becomes a long-term movement. Thousands of hashtags appear online every single day. Some go viral for a few weeks or even months and then slowly disappear from public attention.
The #IceBucketChallenge (or #ALSIceBucketChallenge) is an example of a trend that went viral in 2014 to raise awareness and donations for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Millions of people uploaded videos of themselves pouring buckets of ice water over their heads and challenged others to participate.
Although the campaign successfully raised awareness and funds for ALS research, the hashtag eventually lost momentum as public attention moved on to other issues. It shows an important aspect of hashtag publics: they can be incredibly powerful, but they can also be fragile. A digital public can be created overnight, attract millions of people to join and influence the conversation. Yet it can also fade quickly as attention shifts elsewhere ⏳.
Is Posting A Hashtag Actually Activism? 🤔 This is likely one of the biggest debates on hashtag activism. Some people argue that posting a hashtag helps raise awareness and encourages public discussion 📢. Others say that online participation can't be enough to make a difference. I personally feel both perspectives are true. A hashtag cannot solve a problem by itself. It can introduce people to issues they may never have learned about and make it easier for more voices to join the conversation ⚖️.
According to Webster (2025), digital citizenship involves participating responsibly in digital environments. This means not only sharing content but also evaluating information, engaging respectfully and understanding the impact of our online participation. The Internet's New Town Square 🌙 I love hashtag activism because it is a way to make social media into something bigger than entertainment. For a moment, millions of strangers are able to discuss one concern including one story or one issue. They share information, debate ideas and add their own voice to a discussion that goes beyond the nation's boundaries.
The hashtag may eventually stop trending and public attention may shift elsewhere, but for that moment, social media becomes a digital town square where people around the world participate in the same conversation 💬. That is a lot of power for a tiny "#" symbol ✨.
References Agustya, S. V., Natalia, K., & Irwansyah, I. (2023). Communication through hashtags in social movements: A systematic literature review. Journal La Sociale, 4(5), 319–328. https://doi.org/10.37899/journal-la-sociale.v4i5.908 Ojala, M., & Ripatti-Torniainen, L. (2023). Where is the public of “networked publics”? A critical analysis of the theoretical limitations of online publics research. European Journal of Communication, 39(2), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231210207 Poell, T., Nieborg, D., & Dijck, J. van. (2019). Platformisation. Internet Policy Review, 8(4). https://policyreview.info/concepts/platformisation Webster, J. (2025). Defining digital citizenship and digital citizenship education: a Delphi study. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2025.2536564
