The paper first outlines the importance of being able to analyse the spread of global social movements. The benefits and challenges of using Twitter/X as a research tool are discussed alongside the limitations of existing methodological approaches to doing so. Using the spread of the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie as a case study, the paper proceeds to demonstrate how the operationalizing of an LMP approach can offer a fresh perspective on the success and spread of social media phenomena that might be missed by other methodological approaches. The final section looks to the future of studies in this field, detailing how the unique flexibility of the LMP framework equips the researcher with an adaptable approach in anticipation of continued change in the technological landscape. Twitter/X is the platform of choice in this paper (established global social movements have centred around the hashtag on this platform) but following an approach from Bruns and Burgess (2012), the central tenet of the approach (i.e. the interplay of these strands) can (and should) be applied to analyses of other social media platforms.