# Metoo > #MeToo is a social movement hashtag that went viral in 2017 after Alyssa Milano's Harvey Weinstein tweet, becoming one of the internet's most powerful awareness campaigns for sexual assault survivors. #MeToo is a social movement and hashtag against sexual harassment and assault that became one of the most powerful viral campaigns in internet history. Originally coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006 to support survivors of sexual violence, the phrase exploded across social media in October 2017 after actress Alyssa Milano tweeted it in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal[1]. Within 48 hours, the hashtag had been posted nearly a million times on Twitter and shared by 4.7 million Facebook users in 12 million posts[1]. ## Origin Tarana Burke, a youth worker and advocate in New York City, first used the phrase "Me Too" in 2006 on Myspace[3]. Burke aimed to create a space for young women of color who had survived sexual violence, letting them know they weren't alone[1]. The phrase was born from Burke's own experience as a survivor and her work with Girls for Gender Equity in Brooklyn[1]. For over a decade, "Me Too" existed as a grassroots effort with limited reach. Then on October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an investigation accusing film producer Harvey Weinstein of decades of sexual harassment[3]. Actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan were among the first to speak publicly about Weinstein's behavior[1]. On October 15, 2017, Alyssa Milano posted a tweet reading: "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet"[9]. Milano later said a friend suggested the idea, and she was initially unaware of Burke's earlier work with the phrase[1]. That single tweet ignited a global firestorm. - **Platform:** Myspace (original phrase), Twitter (viral hashtag) - **Creator:** Tarana Burke (founder/activist), Alyssa Milano (viral tweet) - **Date:** 2006 (coined), 2017 (viral spread) ## Overview #MeToo is a two-word declaration of solidarity. Survivors of sexual harassment, assault, or abuse post the phrase on social media to signal they've experienced sexual violence, making visible the sheer scale of the problem. The format is deceptively simple: just the words "me too" paired with a hashtag. No image macro, no template, no punchline. The meme's power comes from mass participation. When thousands and then millions of people post the same two words, each carrying a personal weight behind them, the cumulative effect is staggering[3]. The campaign operates differently from typical internet memes. There's no humor, no remix culture, no exploitable template. Instead, #MeToo functions as what researchers call a "participatory video meme" in text form: a shared framework that invites personal contribution[2]. Its virality came not from being funny or clever but from tapping into a massive, previously suppressed shared experience[6]. ## How It Spread The response to Milano's tweet was immediate and overwhelming. Twitter confirmed that #MeToo had been tweeted over half a million times by Monday morning, October 16[9]. By the end of two days, the hashtag had appeared nearly a million times on Twitter alone[1]. On Facebook, the numbers were even larger: approximately 4.7 million users shared 12 million #MeToo posts in fewer than 24 hours[1]. High-profile responses from celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, Uma Thurman, and others amplified the movement's reach[3]. The hashtag jumped platforms rapidly. French women adopted #BalanceTonPorc ("squeal on your pig") to share workplace harassment stories[9]. In China, where state censorship blocked #MeToo-related hashtags, internet users created the "rice bunny" (米兔, pronounced "mi tu") meme. Pairing images of rice with a bunny, users could discuss the movement through an innocent-looking visual workaround[2]. SF State economist Sepideh Modrek, who studied over 12,000 geotagged #MeToo tweets from the first week, found that 11% of original tweets included a personal disclosure of sexual assault or abuse[6]. The majority of people sharing were white women between 25 and 50, often reporting incidents that had occurred 20 to 30 years earlier[6]. Modrek's research also revealed that African American women were underrepresented in disclosures despite facing equal or higher rates of sexual violence[6]. In Canada, police-reported instances of sexual assault jumped 25% in the three months following the hashtag's viral moment. Quebec saw a 61% increase over the same period[5]. ## How to Use #MeToo isn't used like a typical meme template. People typically post the hashtag in one of three ways: 1. **Simple declaration:** Post "#MeToo" alone or as part of a short statement to indicate you've experienced sexual harassment or assault. 2. **Personal story:** Share a specific experience alongside the hashtag. Many people include details about what happened, when, and where. 3. **Solidarity signal:** Use the hashtag to show support for survivors without sharing your own story. ## Cultural Impact The #MeToo movement drove sweeping changes across industries and legal systems. Companies enacted new anti-harassment policies, and social pressure created a cultural shift that stigmatized sexually inappropriate workplace behavior[1]. Burke advocated for processing all untested rape kits, updating school policies, improving teacher vetting, and mandating background checks for professionals who work with children[3]. A #MeToo bill was introduced in the U.S. Congress to remove the "cooling off" period required before federal government staffers could file complaints against Congress members[3]. The movement prompted the formation of Time's Up, which raised over $13 million and assembled a network of nearly 800 attorneys[15]. Mainstream media coverage was enormous. Time named Burke Person of the Year[1]. Research institutions studied the movement's dynamics: the SF State study documented the demographics and patterns of disclosure[6], while Facebook's internal data showed almost half of American users were friends with someone who posted about being sexually assaulted or harassed[3]. The movement's reach extended well beyond English-speaking countries. In dozens of languages, local equivalents emerged[3]. The Chinese "rice bunny" workaround demonstrated how meme culture could circumvent state censorship, using the translinguistic homophone "mi tu" to coordinate a social movement in a country hostile to organized activism[2]. ## Fun Facts - Milano's tweet wasn't the first use of the phrase online. Burke had been using "Me Too" on Myspace since 2006, a full eleven years before the hashtag went viral[3]. - Facebook reported that 4.7 million users made 12 million #MeToo-related posts in less than 24 hours, making it one of the fastest-spreading hashtag campaigns in the platform's history[1]. - SF State researcher Sepideh Modrek stayed up until 2 a.m. taking screenshots of #MeToo tweets the night the hashtag went viral, compiling 400 pages of screenshots that became the basis for her published research[6]. - The "rice bunny" Chinese equivalent is one of the clearest examples of how meme culture can serve as a tool for political subversion, using translinguistic homophones to dodge government censorship[2]. - A 2018 study found that 81% of women and 43% of men in the United States reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment or assault[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is #MeToo? #MeToo is a hashtag and social movement where survivors of sexual harassment and assault share their experiences to raise awareness about the scale of sexual violence[3]. ### Where did #MeToo come from? Activist Tarana Burke coined "Me Too" in 2006 on Myspace to empower young women of color who had survived sexual violence. The hashtag went viral in October 2017 after actress Alyssa Milano tweeted it following the Harvey Weinstein scandal[1]. ### What does #MeToo mean? The phrase is a declaration of shared experience. By saying "me too," a person signals that they have also experienced sexual harassment or assault, creating solidarity through visible numbers[3]. ### How do you use #MeToo? People post the hashtag on social media, either alone or alongside a personal story, to indicate they've experienced sexual violence or to show support for survivors[7]. ### Is #MeToo still popular? The hashtag peaked in late 2017 and early 2018 but still appears daily on social media platforms. The movement's institutional legacy, including Time's Up and workplace policy changes, persists beyond the hashtag itself[1]. ### Who started #MeToo? Tarana Burke created the original "Me Too" framework in 2006. Alyssa Milano's October 15, 2017 tweet turned it into a global viral hashtag[3]. ### How many people posted #MeToo? In the first two days, Twitter saw nearly a million uses of the hashtag. On Facebook, 4.7 million users made 12 million related posts in under 24 hours[1]. ### What happened to Harvey Weinstein after #MeToo? Weinstein was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and faced criminal charges following the allegations that triggered the movement's viral spread[9]. ### What is the Chinese version of #MeToo? In China, internet users created the "rice bunny" (米兔), using images of rice and a bunny whose combined pronunciation sounds like "mi tu," to discuss the movement while evading state censorship[2]. ### What is Time's Up? Time's Up is an initiative launched in January 2018 by over 300 women in entertainment, backed by $13 million in donations, to provide legal support for harassment survivors across all industries[8]. ### Did men participate in #MeToo? Yes. Some men posted #MeToo to share their own experiences of assault. Others created response hashtags like #HowIWillChange and #IveDoneThat, though these were criticized as potentially performative[14]. ### What research was done on #MeToo tweets? SF State economist Sepideh Modrek studied over 12,000 geotagged tweets from the first week, finding that 11% included personal disclosures of sexual assault, mostly from white women aged 25 to 50 reporting incidents from decades earlier[6]. ### How did #MeToo affect workplace policy? The movement prompted companies across industries to enact or strengthen anti-harassment policies. The #MeToo bill was introduced in Congress to reform federal complaint procedures[3]. ### What was the Depp v. Heard trial's effect on #MeToo? The 2022 trial became a flashpoint as TikTok users turned Amber Heard's testimony into comedic content. Researchers argued it demonstrated how internet culture could be weaponized against the survivors #MeToo aimed to protect[5]. ## References 1. [The #MeToo Movement: History, SA Statistics, Impact]() 2. [The surprising power of internet memes]() 3. [What Happens Because of #MeToo. TRIGGER WARNING | by Amanda Magee | Medium]() 4. [MeToo movement]() 5. [#MeToo - Urban Dictionary]() 6. [We Need to Talk About This: Memes and the #MeToo Movement – The Owl]() 7. [When #MeToo Becomes a Meme — The Observer]() 8. [Professor’s research paints picture of #MeToo movement’s origins | SF State News]() 9. [Sports]() 10. [#MeToo: Alyssa Milano's Call For Sexual Abuse Victims To Come Forward Goes Viral | HuffPost Women]() 11. [Poet Isobel O’Hare’s Erasure Poems Are A Powerful Response To The Sexual Misconduct Allegations Dominating The News]() 12. [Powerful Hollywood Women Unveil Anti-Harassment Action Plan - The New York Times]() 13. [#MeToo: Social media flooded with personal stories of assault | CNN]() 14. [Artist creates erasure poems out of celebrities' apology statements | Mashable]() 15. [Jennifer Lopez Talks Career, #MeToo Movement And A-Rod Relationship]() 16. [Tina Brown says she was pitched Charlie Rose comeback show | Page Six]() 17. [Viral – UPROXX]() 18. [Q&A: Casey Affleck on new film, his Oscars absence and MeToo | AP News]() 19. [Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, Meryl Streep among powerful women in anti-harassment group | CNN]() 20. [Men Tweet #HowIWillChange After #MeToo, But It's Not Really Helping]() 21. [Fundraiser for TIME'S UP Foundation by TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund : TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund]() 22. [Interview with Lindsay Lohan: ‘I had way too much money. I was way too young. The tabloids were out to get me’]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/metoo Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library