#Ferguson and #IceBucketChallenge: The Top Ten #Hashtags of the Last 10 Years

​Fast forward a decade, and globally, an average of 125 million hashtags are shared every single day on Twitter.

Some have been used to highlight injustice, others to promote political ideas.

On its' birthday, we bring you the top ten hashtags used over the last 10 years.

#JeSuisCharlie

The Charlie Hebdo magazine shootings and terror attacks in Paris in January 2015, generated a lot of tweets with the hashtags #JeSuisParis and #JeSuisCharlie.

​They became slogans around the world as people were determined to show their solidarity with the victims and ordinary Parisians.

​Now the hashtag #JeSuis — which means "I am" in French — is used widely on social media in the aftermath of may terror attacks worldwide, such as the one in Barcelona, Spain on August 17 when a van mowed down innocent civilians. 

​#BlackLivesMatter

Social media has become a common place for groups and campaigners to share their ideas and organize protests.

The #BlackLivesMatter hashtag has been used 12,000,000 times, and it has transformed from a hashtag that unites people to a political movement.

​#CecilTheLion

When Walter Palmer, a US dentist posed next to a lion he had killed in Zimbabwe, Twitter went into overdrive.

Palmer was instantly targeted on the social networking site, while the big cat became a legend with his own hashtag, #CecilTheLion.

​#BringBackOurGirls 

The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag was used to demand the safe return of Nigerian school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group active in the region.

From former First Lady Michelle Obama to actresses and singers — everyone chipped in.

​#IceBucketChallenge

6,200,000 uses of the #IceBucketChallenge hashtag on Twitter helped make the awareness campaign so incredibly popular.

In the summer of 2014, you couldn't log onto Twitter, and even Facebook or Instagram, without seeing a friend or colleague being doused with cold water in a bid to raise awareness of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease.

​#IndyRef

The Scottish independence referendum, otherwise known as #IndyRef, monopolized much of Twitter during September 2014. The hashtag was used 8,500,000 times.

​#GivingTuesday

In an attempt to counteract consumerism the United Nations Foundation gave life to #GivingTuesday. It was used 3,100,000 times.

​#MakeAmericaGreatAgain

This was a favorite hashtag with the US President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. He used it to galvanize crowds, and promote the fact that when he is president he would put America first to help bolster its economy.

The president continues to use the slogan extensively during his speeches as well as on his Twitter account.

​#Grenfell

​This hashtag provoked raw emotion as people expressed their hurt after a fire ripped through a London tower block in June 2017.

#Ferguson

​Ferguson was a popular hashtag after Michael Brown, an unarmed young man from Ferguson, Missouri, was shot by police.

​Brown's death led to a social uprising in Ferguson as people battled against the police due to his unjust shooting.