Twitter's top trending hashtag worldwide, #illridewithyou, shows how social networks can be a force for good. Australian samaritans are using the hashtag to lend support to Muslim citizens on their daily commute, in case of a racist attack.

What's #illridewithyou All About?

A gunman took dozens of hostages in a cafe in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, December 15. He was presumed to be an Islamic extremist, after he asked for a flag of ISIS among his demands. While the gunman's actions are clearly to be condemned, innocent Muslims – particularly those who wear traditional garb – were afraid of hateful speech or even violence following these events. Almost half of Australia has anti-Muslim sentiments, according to a recent report.

And Australia has seen racial attacks in public before. There was the school boy verbally abused by a 50-year-old woman, a 55-year-old lady ranted against a couple of kids in a train, and a Muslim woman was bashed and thrown from a moving train. After that last incident, Muslim activists said they have seen a "massive spike in racist attacks," the Herald Sun reported.

Amidst fears of a similar backlash against the Islamic community after the hostage situation, this Twitter campaign brings hope.

Australians across the nation started tagging the location of their daily commute on Twitter with the hashtag #illridewithyou, showing support to their fellow Muslim citizens and assuring them of protection. The hashtag has quickly gone viral, with people across the world praising it.

(In case you're wondering what a hashtag is, here's everything you need to know.)

How to Find or Offer Help With #illridewithyou

An unfortunate offshoot of the hashtag is that people are praising or commenting about it, which means those genuinely offering help or needing it are unable to find the tweet that can help them out. If you are an Australian looking to find someone else on your route, here's how to use Twitter's search feature to find things relevant to you.

  1. Go to Twitter's Advanced Search.
  2. In the field for "These Hashtags", write #illridewithyou.
  3. In the field for "Any Of These Words", write one word that is relevant to your commute. If it needs two or more words, add quotation marks before and after the phrase; for example, "Sydney Opera House".
  4. Hit Search or Enter.
  5. In the search results, click the "All" button (it's set to Top tweets by default).
illridewithyou-twitter-search-advanced-results

To reply, you will need to sign up for Twitter or log in if you already have an account. And if you haven't signed up already, you should. This isn't the first time social networking has had a positive impact on society.

How the #illridewithyou Hashtag Started

Funnily, the spark for the hashtag started on Twitter's rival social network, Facebook. An Australian lady named Rachael Jacobs posted two updates, which was shared on Twitter by TV producer and host Michael James.

Sydney native Tessa Kum was moved by it and tweeted:

And in no time, it spread like wildfire. The #illridewithyou hashtag is one of those moments where you realise the power of social networking and how it can be a harbinger of good. You need to only check out the #illridewithyou hashtag on Twitter to see its impact. Melbourne native Ozge Sevindik's tweet says it all:

Eventually, Rachael Jacobs also appeared on Twitter, closing a loop and giving the hashtag a life of its own:

Twitter Australia puts the whole hashtag in perspective as it became the top trending hashtag worldwide:

Finally, BBC News got to speak with Tessa Kum about the hashtag and the response:

Tell Us Your #illridewithyou Story

The hashtag has been inspiring to us, and we're sure, to you. And we want to hear from you.

  • If you used #illridewithyou, tell us your story.
  • If #illridewithyou touched you in some way, tell us your story.
  • If you have any story about #illridewithyou or similar incidents in the past, now is the time to share it.

Sources: Time, Buzzfeed, ABC News