#ImportedHakoomatNamanzoor: anti-govt hashtag sets record with over 100mn tweets

ISLAMABAD: The hashtag #ImportedHakoomatNamanzoor (imported government unacceptable) trending on Twitter on the national and global trends panel for over two weeks now has generated an unprecedented volume of over 100 million tweets and is “maybe the biggest trend ever”, said a Twitter analytical tool.

According to Tweet Binder, by early Tuesday, 106,433,419 tweets had been sent using the hashtag, in Urdu rather than English, since its launch in the second week of April to talk about the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance which came into power by overthrowing the administration of former prime minister Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence on April 10.

Hashtags are a handy way of grouping and categorising tweets, and they help people follow topics in which they’re interested. Anyone searching for a specific topic can find relevant tweets immediately rather than having to scroll through their Twitter feed.

Twitter’s research found that tweets with hashtags increased engagement — clicks, retweets, favourites, and replies — for individuals and brands.

Minister for Information and Broadcast Marriyum Aurangzeb had claimed that the trend — used by the people to condemn the purported foreign conspiracy to overthrow the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government — was initiated by the party and has since been promoted by automated accounts, often referred to as bots.

“Tweets were generated through bots. We have their Twitter handles. The ongoing campaign using faceless Twitter accounts and handles will not only be ended but FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) will also be involved. There is zero tolerance for this,” she told a press conference last week.

Following her presser, the counter-terrorism wing of the agency launched a crackdown on social media activists that it believed were involved in what it declared a smear campaign against institutions.

An FIA officer told the media that the campaign had been launched in an “organised manner” by social media activists operating from within and outside the country but didn’t name any party for leading the campaigns.

But PTI MP and former climate minister Zartaj Gul disagree. “This is the consolidated voice of Pakistanis protesting over the foisted imported dummy government [sic] of literally criminals that has been imposed on the public,” she tweeted.

“Pakistan’s sovereignty was challenged, the way Pakistanis across the globe responded has made history,” read a tweet published by the party’s official handle.

“History is being made, you cannot stop the voices of [the] people of Pakistan, it will only get louder and louder,” said Imran Ghazali, former head of the Digital Media Wing.

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