Top 10 Shocking Hashtags We Can't Believe Happened
If you're on Twitter, you know that sometimes on the social media site there can be some terrible hashtags. Whether it's #HillaryForPrison, where users wanted to send Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton to jail, #DumpStarWars, which called for a boycott of Rogue One when one crew member spoke out against President Donald Trump, or #Cut4Bieber, an example of 4chan users trolling Justin Bieber fans to commit self-harm, these are some dangerous trending hashtags. WatchMojo counts down ten of the worst hashtags we've ever seen on Twitter.
Special thanks to our users Malcolm Pringle, Tim Dischert, Theinfamouspitbull, Daniel Ponce, Tataomodale and James Lisle for suggesting this idea! Check out the voting page at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest/Top%20Ten%20Hashtags
Script written by Liam Hillery.
#10: #CollarBoneChallenge
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Beauty is one of the most divisive topics the Internet tackles. Some days you pop on Instagram or Twitter to see social media starlets posting pics of makeup-free faces and cellulite – celebrating natural beauty, ignoring unrealistic pressures and standards. Other days, it’s young girls trying to pop a roll of quarters into their neck. The Collar Bone Challenge saw women show off how thin they are by fitting a roll of quarters into the gap that forms behind the collarbone, provided you have the tight skin required. More than just fat shaming and skinny praising, the Collar Bone Challenge was effectively endorsing eating disorders.
#9: #PizzaGate
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The notion of fake news on social media sites became a key talking point in 2016. One of the most notable, and definitely most outrageous, fake news stories of 2016, was Pizza Gate. Social media trolls and conspiracy theorists spread the completely unfounded theory that Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C. pizzeria, was the hub of a child sex trafficking ring organized by Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton. The rumor escalated to the point where one avid believer stormed the pizzeria with a semi-automatic rifle to liberate the supposedly entrapped children. Of course, there were no sex slaves, the man was arrested, and social media exploded with talk of #PizzaGate.
#8: #Cut4Bieber
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This hashtag wasn’t just shocking; it was downright dangerous. It was sparked by a thread on 4chan – a discussion site that prides itself on advanced trolling – where users wanted to dupe passionate Justin Bieber fans into believing they had to cut themselves to protest singer’s pot smoking habits and bad boy ways. The site launched a similar rumor for One Direction fans – cuting to protest Zayn leaving the band – but it was the Bieber hashtag that actually gained momentum, rocketing first to the top trending spot in the U.S., and eventually worldwide.
#7: #AllLivesMatter
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Social media is the modern arena for making your voice heard... it also tends to involve quite a bit of arguing, especially when things turn political. Growing in response to the #BlackLivesMatter campaign, #AllLivesMatter added nothing positive to the discussion. Worse still, it attempted to drown out the BLM movement; a campaign that itself was spreading a message of opposition to the tragic deaths of unarmed black people. Many criticized #AllLivesMatter tweets for their openly racist and negative motivation, which overshadowed any positive messages the hashtag was attempting to inspire.
#6: #DumpStarWars
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Why would we ever dump Star Wars? Sure the prequels sucked, but like, get over it! Actually, this hashtag had little to do with the actual films; a small part of the Internet turned on the Star Wars universe after Rogue One screenwriter Chris Weitz (whites) tweeted in opposition to Donald Trump, shortly after the 2016 Presidential Election. Weitz suggested that Star Wars opposed hate and white supremacist villainy, alluding to the President’s often-divisive message. The Alt-Right then took to social media, spreading #DumpStarWars in an attempt to promote a boycott of the upcoming film. While the hashtag didn’t go unnoticed, its ultimate goal failed – if Rogue One’s billion-dollar box office returns are anything to go by, anyway.
#5: #HillaryForPrison
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Left-leaning millennials aren’t the only ones to master the hashtag. Hardline conservatives also have hash-taggery down pat, even though the results tend to be a bit less fun and lot more grim. During the 2016 Presidential Campaign, Twitter was awash in heated tags, many of which targeted Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Following GOP candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric, the right began calling for Clinton to be imprisoned. Picking up on Trump’s various accusations and a boast made in passing that he’d put her in jail, tweet-cons called Clinton out for the email and Benghazi scandals and held nothing back as they protested her freedom.
#4: #CureForMiley
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Poor Miley has courted controversy so often they’re practically dating, but that doesn’t mean she deserved this. Sure, she had the whole “Blurred Lines” twerking moment, and she’s probably stuck her tongue out far too many times and aimed it at one too many dancer butts, but she also grew up hyper-analyzed under a very public microscope. Hot on the heels of her split with Liam Hemsworth, users of 4Chan crafted and spread the rumor that Miley’s ramped up sexual appetite led her to contract AIDS. Certain parts of the online community fell for the ruse, and her fans took to Twitter, tears and all, in hopes of finding a cure.
#3: #IfTheyGunnedMeDown
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Social media offers up tons of trolling and negativity, but it can also spread incredibly powerful messages. In the wake of several police shootings of unarmed black people, Twitter took exception to the way the victims were portrayed on the news. Selected images played into black stereotypes, portrayed the victims as criminals and thugs, rather than upstanding citizens. Black Twitter users responded with this hashtag, posting two photos of themselves: one that played into stereotypes, and the other portraying a different, less threatening reality. The campaign highlighted institutional racism and made social media users take a humbling step back to reflect on inherent bias.
#2: #RepealThe19th
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In October 2016, a survey was released that indicated Donald Trump would win the 2016 Presidential Election if only men voted. Right wing extremists and trolls took to social media soon after with calls to repeal the 19th amendment, which in 1920 secured women the right to vote. Although a horrifying and backward concept, the topic trended – but not for the reason you think. According to an analysis by the Washington Post, only around 10% of the tweets actually supported the rhetoric. The vast majority of tweets actually used the hashtag to lambaste the idea and support feminism. Now that’s how you defeat hate.
#1: #RapeMelania
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When a sign reading “Rape Melania” appeared in photos from an Anti-Trump rally, an unfortunate and viral hashtag was born. Trump supporters denounced Clinton supporters for the attack, while Clinton supporters pleaded that the sign did not represent their views. While opinions were divided on the authenticity of the photos, that debate was far from the major issue. Instead, many felt the real problem was Twitter allowing the hashtag to be used. Twitter responded that they didn’t remove the hashtag because it was primarily used to denounce, not support sexual assault, but few were satisfied with this response. Either way, a hashtag outright suggesting sexual assault trended.
