hashtag hijacking
Exploiting popular metadata markers
Hashtag hijacking is the practice of inserting unrelated content into a trending hashtag's stream to exploit its visibility.
Brands do it for marketing, trolls do it for disruption, and activists do it to redirect attention: Protesters hijacked the company's promotional hashtag with complaints about labor practices.
The tactic can backfire when communities push back against the intrusion.
- bandwagoningAdopting popular positions opportunistically
- viralSpreading quickly online
- going viralSpreading rapidly online
- trendingCurrently gaining widespread attention
- cloutInformal power or punch
spam · trolling · brigading · amplification · astroturfing · newsjacking · riding the wave · hashtag · clickbait · engagement · algorithm · manipulation · outrage · co-opting · piggybacking · bots · disinformation · swarm