The online cyberbullying campaign against 11-year-olds, the origins of which are unknown, began at the start of the school year. According to French broadcaster BFMTV, the hashtag has gathered at least 40 million views over this period.
French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer urged school administrators to remain vigilant over harassment and insults targeting those born in 2010, while their parents are invited to report such cases on an emergency hotline.
"This is completely stupid, remember when you were in 6th [grade] yourselves," he said in an address published on Twitter, calling on others to join a #BienvenueAux2010 (Welcome, 2010) movement to support the targeted teens.
Even though the hashtag is no longer searchable on the network, some users have managed to circumvent the ban by adding new words to the hashtag, according to Francinfo. In addition, the hashtag remains searchable on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram accounts using it also remain active.