Social Media Has Spoken: #IStandWithAhmed

Social media lit up yesterday with #IStandWithAhmed. The hashtash is dedicated to Ahmed Mohamed, a fourteen year old student currently residing in Irving, Texas. Ahmed was arrested this Monday for bringing to school a clock that he built in hope of impressing one of his teachers. Unfortunately, that teacher mistook Ahmed's good intention and regarded the clock as an explosive. Ahmed was subsequently arrested by Irving's police department and charged with potentially building a hoax bomb.

Social Media Response

Photos of Ahmed being handcuffed and arrested quickly went viral on Wednesday morning. #IStandWithAhmed emerged and became the most talked about topic on both Facebook and Twitter. Support on social media for Ahmed flooded in as #IStandWithAhmed gained nearly one million tweets by the end of Wednesday night.

#IStandWithAhmed Tweets on September 14-16 (Source: Topsy)

Online supporters quickly rallied around #IStandWithAhmed arguing that school officials and authorities should not be punishing young students for their interest in science and technology. It didn't take long for Silicon Valley to come to Ahmed's defense as the story erupted on social media. Twitter, NASA, and Google along with many other tech companies all publicly supported Ahmed and condemned the Irving Unified School District and Police Department for the wrongful arrest.

NASA's and Twitter's Response to #IStandWithAhmed (Source: Twitter)

As the day progressed, President Obama and Hillary Clinton also spoke out on the issue, both publically condemning Ahmed's arrest. At the end of her tweet, Hillary Clinton encouraged Ahmed to "stay curious and keep building." After complimenting his clock, President Obama extended an invitation for Ahmed to visit the White House.

President Obama's White House Invitation to Ahmed (Source: Twitter)

#IStandWithAhmed Aftermath

On Wednesday morning, the Irving Police Department dropped all charges against Ahmed after their investigation that the hoax bomb was a harmless homemade clock. This happened in light of overwhelming support on social media for Ahmed. After receiving such an overwhelmingly positive response, Ahmed expressed his gratitude towards his social media supporters and his amazement with how strongly everyone stood behind him. Ahmed took his gratitude onto his newly made  Twitter account (@IStandWithAhmed), tweeting out a thank note to all his supporters. Early Wednesday evening, Ahmed gave an interview with PBS News Hour.

A