Social media feeds have gone dark as tens of millions of people posted for Blackout Tuesday in solidarity with the George Floyd protests.
Instagram and Twitter users shared black squares and paused posting on their profiles as part of the digital initiative to call for racial equality around the world.
Statistics from Instagram alone showed posts with the hashtag #blackouttuesday had been used more than 22 million times by Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, related tags #blackoutday2020 and #theshowmustbepaused were also used hundreds of thousands of times.
It comes as protests have erupted across cities in the US and around the world over the last week after a white police officer was filmed kneeling for minutes on the neck of George Floyd, an African-America man who later died in police custody.
Tuesday's social media trend has its roots in the music industry, with stars such as Rihanna, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry among those taking part.
Film and sporting heroes including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton also shared the hashtag.
The idea began with black music executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, who registered the website theshowmustbepaused.com on Saturday.
On the site, the women said they created the idea in response to the deaths of Mr Floyd and “countless other black citizens at the hands of police”.
They said Tuesday’s blackout was “meant to intentionally disrupt the work week” and inspire “reflective and productive” conversation to support the black community.
It was also intended to hold the music industry accountable for profiting “predominantly from black art” and to encourage major corporations to protect black communities that “have made them disproportionately wealthy”.
“This is not just a 24-hour initiative,” they added. “We are and will be in this fight for the long haul. We are tired and can’t change things alone.”
The hashtag drew criticism from some, with suggestions it risked allowing messages from the Black Lives Matter movement to be lost and that now is not the time to stop posting on social media.
“I just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever,” tweeted American rapper Lil Nas X.
“I don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. We don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. we need to spread info and be as loud as ever.”
The musician joined many in encouraging those posting black boxes to avoid also using #BlackLivesMatter, to ensure information from the movement is not lost, and to share links to petitions and places to donate.
