Twitter is celebrating Pride Month for users of the platform as well as the company’s own employees.
On June 2, Twitter announced that it would be activating its rainbow heart emoji for all of June for anyone who tweets the hashtags #LoveIsLove, #Pride2016, or #LoveWins.
Many prominent users on social media have tweeted the hashtags, including The White House.
"When all Americans are treated equal, we are all more free." —@POTUS #Pride2016 pic.twitter.com/LWkysr8yER
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 9, 2016
The heaviest use of the hashtags came in the wake of the shooting in Orlando. Twitter has shared a map showing the growth of the #LoveIsLove hashtag in the hours following news of the shooting.
There has never been a more urgent time for love. #LoveIsLove pic.twitter.com/9qsEqoumAL
— TwitterOpen (@TwitterOpen) June 13, 2016
#LoveIsLove #WeAreOrlando #Pride2016 pic.twitter.com/0rZis6gKQP
— GLAAD (@glaad) June 19, 2016
However, LGBT advocacy goes further than a hashtag at Twitter. In a blog post on Monday, Lead of TwitterOpen Jim Halloran stated, “At Twitter, Pride is also a celebration of love for people of every gender, orientation, and identity. Twitter is where inclusion lives, empowering these diverse voices and communities to express themselves and connect.”
Pride Month is a celebration of love for every gender, orientation and identity. Share the love with #LoveIsLove https://t.co/JMnFRIuXYA
— TwitterOpen (@TwitterOpen) June 20, 2016
According to the blog post, Twitter stands up for the LGBT community by partnering with nonprofit organizations, providing equal healthcare benefits to LGBTQ employees, not hosting blood drives as long as the FDA’s restriction on gay men is in effect, and fighting against discriminatory “religious freedom bills.”
You can celebrate Pride, too, by tweeting #LoveIsLove, #Pride2016, or #LoveWins on Twitter.