Instagram Hashtags Technology Now Helps Find Missing People

Mar. 21, 2020

Human trafficking is the world fastest growing crime, with more than 20 million victims. But many of them are outside their country of origin. So, it’s difficult to track down who are missing looking only where they were last seen.

That's why Impar (Ana Paula Moreno Institute, from São Paulo, Brazil) and BETC São Paulo decided to make these people seen on a world scale, through a project named #FindHope. To find and help the victims, the project seeks help through everyone's eyes, adding the photos and data of these missing people to the photos that are seen all around the world on Instagram. 

On the date of each major world event, the institution publishes photos of missing people using trending hashtags. Thus, when someone searches for hashtags on Instagram related to these events, they are impacted by photographs of missing persons, increasing the chances of them being found.

The project happens in the hashtags of each important event - such as #Grammy2020, #SuperBowl2020, and #Oscar2020. In addition to the social network initiative (Instagram: @findhopeofficial), it has a website on which it is possible to register other people or send information to help find them: www.findhopeproject.com