hashtag activism

What is hashtag activism? It refers to the use of hashtags for internet activism. More specifically, hashtag activism is the act of fighting for or supporting a cause that people are advocating through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter/X, Google and other social networking websites.

This is the kind of activism that does not require any action from the person other than sharing or liking a post or tweeting or retweeting. The term gets its name from the liberal use of hashtags (#) that are often used to spread the word about a cause over the net.

Historical perspective: The first mention of this term was in 2011 by The Guardian which cited #OccupyWallStreet to describe the Occupy Wall Street protests. Other notable hashtag activism examples include: #Icebucketchallenge, #BringBackOurGirls, #NotOneMore, #PrayforParis, #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo.