The most retweeted message in Saudi Arabian history will take your breath away

Ibrahim was left paralyzed after a car accident, and the hashtag #vistibrahim brought an unprecedented response

Published May 16, 2014 4:00PM (EDT)

  (Imgur/ahmedeljohani)
(Imgur/ahmedeljohani)

A Saudi Arabian boy named Ibrahim was left paralyzed after a car accident, over a year ago. According to the Independent, he'd not had a visit from his family in months. Alone in the hospital he took to social media, tweeting that he had no visitors -- and the response showed the incredible power of Twitter.

Soon the hashtag #visitimbrahim was trending on Twitter in Saudi Arabia, and within a short day it became the most retweeted message in Saudi Arabia. In 24 hours, according to the Independent, it had been retweeted more than 200,000 times.

More than just the social media response was the response of the people who saw the tweet. Visitors poured in bringing flowers, pizza and gifts. Hundreds lined up outside King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh to visit the boy, all due to a Twitter hashtag. (The hospital even had to put a temporary hold on visitors.)

The tweet generated more than just foot traffic to his hospital room. His Twitter followers also helped to fund a lifesaving surgery. The surgery, which cost $130,000 and required a trip to Germany, was quickly covered.

Below is an imgur of Ibrahim, and his visitors:

h/t Reddit, the Independent


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Hospital Kindness Saudi Arabia Social Media Twitter Video Visitors