hashflag

English

Etymology

Blend of hashtag +‎ flag, coined during the 2010 FIFA World Cup by Twitter when national flags were added to the end of three-character national abbreviation hashtags (e.g., #rsa or #jpn)

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhæʃˌflæɡ/

Noun

hashflag (plural hashflags)

1. (Internet) A non-Unicode pictogram, similar to an emoji, automatically appended to a trending and often branded hashtag in a tweet.

   After posting a tweet about Wombat Strike Six, an upcoming videogame she was excited about, Monique noticed that the hashtag #wombatrevenge had an associated hashflag depicting a small, furious wombat.

   • 2015 September 28, Alissa Walker, “Twitter's Hashflags Are an Abomination, and They Must Be Stopped”, in Gizmodo‎^[1], archived from the original on February 14, 2018:

     Hashflags also don't last forever: Twitter turns them off, when the hashtag stops trending, I guess.

   • 2018, Tim Highfield, “Emoji hashtags // hashtag emoji: Of platforms, visual affect, and discursive flexibility”, in First Monday, volume 23, number 9, →DOI:

     While some hashtags are so specific as to render unlikely the chance that a hashflag will appear out of context (e.g., #turkishairlinesopen2017), there are numerous examples of hashflags being attached to hashtags with multiple meanings and applications.

   • 2022 September 30, Mahsa Alimardani, Kendra Albert, Afsaneh Rigot, “Big Tech Should Support the Iranian People, Not the Regime”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     Despite the record-breaking number of #MahsaAmini tweets, the hashtag remains flagless. Hashflags are custom emojis specific to Twitter that help boost a particular hashtag on the platform and draw attention to a movement. By introducing a hashflag, Twitter would also make it less likely that misleadingly similar hashtags for #MahsaAmini will divert attention.