(CNN) The Proud Boys hashtag, which members of the far-right group have been using, was trending Sunday after gay men on Twitter hijacked it and flooded the feed with photos of their loved ones and families and with memes.
The Proud Boys recently made headlines by celebrating President Trump's reply at last week's debate, when he was asked to condemn White supremacists. The President instead used his allotted time to blame what he called "antifa and the left" for violence and to tell the Proud Boys to " stand back and stand by ."
But now the gay men of Twitter are making the group's hashtag known for entirely different reasons.
Matt Dechaine, one of the men who pitched in with photos of himself and his husband in efforts to overtake the hashtag, said his goal was simply to spread joy.
"Seeing the hashtag was so uplifting," Dechaine, who is from England, told CNN.
Legalise_Gay_Weed on October 4th, 2020 at 21:14 UTC »
I'm imagining the less informed wondering why Trump told a bunch of gay men to stand back and stand by.
foxisfaux on October 4th, 2020 at 20:34 UTC »
They are simply the largest group of bears in the US now.
Best-Bottle4923 on October 4th, 2020 at 20:27 UTC »
You go boys, Stand up and Stand behind.