social media activism
why “like, comment, share, and subscribe” actually matter in the fight for justice
Social media has transformed the landscape of activism by providing what global movements have always needed: instantaneous distribution of information, a tool for communicating, coordinating, and mobilizing, and transparency. Moreover, platforms provide these benefits at scale. The increased access and engagement to social, political, and economic movements online has revolutionized the way, and the speed, at which individuals engage with global issues. As a result, we’ve seen the amplification of both unfiltered and underrepresented voices. Moreover, these voices often present themselves as alternative sources of truth, in direct opposition to the curated media outlets in the West plagued with biases and stakeholder interests.
Now, before we get too much further into it, let’s be real. The impact of social media activism is not without challenges. We know the spread of misinformation, algorithmic biases, and the risk of performative activism are real, consequential concerns of global movements. These concerns often lead to the folks who, despite their generally liberal disposition, remain silent online. These are concerns worth exploring in depth. However, doing so today, amid the Israeli genocide of Palestinians, is shiftless and distracting. Especially when, as we’ll explore below, a simple Google search reveals that social media does have real-world socioeconomic and political impacts, and it has maintained this impact since some of its very first use cases as a tool for activism. So, for the sake of this essay, let’s agree on this: It is crucial for us, as users of social media, to critically evaluate the information we’re being fed, and ensure that the content we’re sharing and supporting is factual and aligned with the goals of the particular movement. Now, for the proof.
#ArabSpring, 2010-2012
The Arab Spring stands as a testament to the power of social media in driving revolutionary movements. Beginning in late 2010, citizens across various Arab nations rose against oppressive regimes, utilizing platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to organize protests, share information, and amplify their voices. Twitter, with its real-time nature, served as a platform for activists to coordinate and disseminate information rapidly – a practice that would change the way the world used Twitter moving forward (hello, live tweeting). The use of hashtags such as #ArabSpring became symbols of unity and shared purpose, galvanizing international support and shining a spotlight on the injustices faced by those in the region. Social media enabled individuals to bridge geographical divides and foster a sense of solidarity, driving momentum for change.
Beyond being one of, if not the earliest documented mobilizations of a people through social media, the most notable outcome of the Arab Spring was the overthrow of long-standing authoritarian regimes in several countries, including Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. These uprisings resulted in the removal of entrenched leaders who had ruled for decades, signaling a desire for democratic governance and political reform. In some cases, new constitutions were drafted, elections were held, and political parties were legalized, marking a giant shift towards more inclusive and participatory political systems in the Arab regions of North Africa and the Middle East.
However, these wins didn’t come without heavy losses. Authoritarian regimes fought hard to maintain their grip on power, so activists faced arrests, censorship, and violence - a clear reminder of the threat and power behind collective voices. The upheaval also had significant economic repercussions. It resulted in disruptions to trade, investment, and tourism. Unemployment, poverty, and economic inequality remained persistent challenges in many countries, exacerbating social tensions and political instability leading to, and for a while after, the overthrowing of regimes.
#BlackLivesMatter, 2013-Present
Perhaps no movement obviates the effectiveness of social media activism in recent years as popularly as #BlackLivesMatter. The #BLM movement emerged on social media in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. It gained prominence in subsequent years, when the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner led people to demonstrate in the streets of Ferguson and New York City, respectively, addressing systemic racism and police brutality against Black communities. Social media platforms served not only as organizing tools, allowing activists to mobilize protests, raise awareness, and advocate for justice, but also as effective tools for citizen journalism, where videos of police brutality spread like wildfire, igniting public participation on- and offline.
This is especially true in the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread dissemination of video footage capturing Floyd's brutal killing at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked outrage and condemnation across social media platforms. Hashtags such as #GeorgeFloyd, #BlackLivesMatter, and #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd trended globally, amplifying calls for accountability and systemic change. Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok facilitated the rapid spread of videos, images, and personal accounts documenting police brutality and solidarity demonstrations. The global reach and immediacy of social media enabled activists to galvanize public opinion, pressure authorities to take action, and sustain momentum for racial justice reforms. The impact of social media activism on the George Floyd case and the Black Lives Matter protests realized material changes in our nation’s policing (however, there is undoubtedly much more work to do).
The "Minnesota Police Accountability Act” and New York’s "Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act," criminalize the use of chokeholds or neck restraints by police officers and require the use of body cameras as well as de-escalation training. New York also repealed Section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law, which had shielded police disciplinary records from public disclosure. California passed legislation aimed at increasing police accountability and transparency, including a bill that requires law enforcement agencies to disclose records related to officer misconduct and use-of-force incidents. The state also implemented a ban on the use of chokeholds and carotid artery restraints by police officers.
The death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police during a botched raid in Louisville, Kentucky, led to the ban of No-Knock Warrants in several states, which had allowed law enforcement officers to enter a residence without prior notification. Meanwhile, Maryland repealed its Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights (LEOBR), which had provided special legal protections for police officers accused of misconduct and Oregon passed a package of police reform bills in June 2020, including measures to ban excessive force, restrict the use of tear gas and other crowd control weapons, and establish a statewide database of police misconduct.
#FreePalestine, 2020-Present
The #FreePalestine movement gained popularity on Twitter in 2020, following then-President Trump’s controversial plans to address the Israeli-Palestine genocide. At its core, #FreePalestine is advocating for the rights and liberation of the Palestinian people from occupation, discrimination, and human rights abuses by Israel. It calls for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, the dismantling of illegal settlements, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Its a movement that includes Palestinians living under occupation, Palestinian refugees living in exile, solidarity activists, human rights organizations, and supporters of justice and equality worldwide.
The movement gained momentum in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, fueled by events such as the First Intifada (1987-1993), the Oslo Accords (1993), the Second Intifada (2000-2005), and the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These events, along with Israeli military operations in Gaza, such as Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009) and Operation Protective Edge (2014), galvanized global support for the Palestinian cause and sparked widespread condemnation of Israeli policies.
While Hamas’ retaliation on Israel on October 7, 2023, magnified the efforts of the #FreePalestine movement, the roots of this movement date back some 75 years, to the mid-20th century. The conflict stems from competing claims to the land of historic Palestine, with Palestinians seeking self-determination and sovereignty over their homeland, while Israelis assert their right to a Jewish state in the region.
Following October 7th, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter have continued to play a significant role in amplifying the #FreePalestine, #CeasefireNow, and #GazaGenocide movements, allowing activists and supporters to raise awareness, share information, and mobilize solidarity efforts on a global scale. So much so that creators-turned-citizen-journalists Motaz Azaiza, Bisan Owda, Plestia Alaqad, Hind Khoudary, and others, have become household names as they report(ed) live from the genocide in Gaza, revealing all that Western media refused to.
Earlier this year, on January 11 and 12, the world watched South Africa initiate International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings on the genocidal acts Israel committed in Gaza. In which, South Africa presented social media posts from the aforementioned citizen journalists as evidence of genocide. While the ICJ hearings did not result in a ceasefire and the fight for a #FreePalestine continues, the legitimacy of social media activism continues to be called into question in some online communities. (We recently shared some ordinary thoughts on success and social media, art and activism, and the deafening silence of some amid global outcries.)
I have only scratched the surface of social media activism. Without even mentioning #OccupyWallstreet, the first American mass activist group to rise from behind the screens of social media in 2011; the indigenous and environmental fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2017, #NoDaPL; #MeToo, or the 2019 #ClimateStrike and #FridaysForFuture global movement led by climate activist Greta Thunburg; The demand for democracy in Hong Kong via #antiELAB and #HongKongProtests through 2020, or countless other movements, I hope you’ve recalled some of how social media has bridged the gap between digital and physical spaces to facilitate real-world social, economic, and political change. Why, then, is the material impact of social media activism still being questioned, despite the decade+ of proof?
Dr. Gay wasn’t the only university president who sat above this cauldron of pressure. Numerous leaders of schools across the country cautiously navigated the gaping topic awkwardly, trying their absolute best to deliver tranquility in a nearly impossible situation. Former University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill, also criticized by Ackman, resigned back in December in the face of antisemitic accusations following widely criticized remarks at a congressional hearing.
While there was an overwhelming amount of calls for Dr. Gay’s resignation, she has had support along the way from people at Congress and on campus. Well over five hundred Harvard professors signed a letter on Dec. 12th, vouching for her, urging the university to resist calls of removing her from office. Alison Frank Johnson, Chair of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard was one of the professors who signed the letter. She expressed her feelings of shock about the resignation during an interview last week with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Countless instances of scholarly misconduct, including plagiarism, can be highlighted by numerous distinguished professors, scholars, and leaders from across the globe. Notably, Justice Neil Gorsuch faced widespread criticism from Democrats during his 2017 Supreme Court nomination for the nearly-dozen counts of unaddressed plagiarism in his scholarly work. However, he was still elected into the Supreme Court and his work is still widely cited today. Asking a university president to resign due to plagiarism, or due to a congressional hearing that was admittedly misworded but also extremely taken out of context, is one of the more explicit cases of double standards that Black women in power face frequently. All of this to say: the irony of “becoming aware” of the accusations against her academic writings arriving in late October, weeks into the war in the Middle East, is all but coincidental.
Immediately following her resignation, leaders of the revolt against former president Gay celebrated the news across numerous platforms including social media, as if a great victory had been won. One of the more infamous voices that sounded off in commemoration was conservative anti-DEI advocate Christopher Rufo, the one who brought both allegations of plagiarism and antisemitism into the public spotlight. “This is the beginning of the end for DEI in America's institutions," said Rufo in a social media post. "We will expose you. We will outmaneuver you. And we will not stop fighting until we have restored colorblind equality in our great nation.”
When pondering whether Claudine Gay resigned from Harvard due to plagiarism, anti-semitic comments, and criticisms about her leadership, or lack thereof, ask yourself this: would she have gotten more opportunities at redemption if she weren’t a Black woman? Would Harvard stand firmly by her side if, let’s say, she was a white man? The nearly 400-year-norm at Harvard, before Claudine Gay and former president Drew Gilpin Faust, the university’s first female president who led the school from 2007-2018.
Contrary to the sentiments of Christopher Rufo and millions of people like him, for many of us - DEI is crucial. Especially those who come from marginalized backgrounds. Without it, the very thing that you seek to cancel and destroy, people like Claudine Gay would never have an opportunity to become president of the most prestigious school in the country.
It’s fitting that the vast majority of people who are adamantly against diversity, equity, and inclusion, are not only privileged and unaware of the privileges they were born with, but are incoherent and blind to the harsh realities that exist, and have been in existence for quite some time. They have no idea what it’s like to have to work three times as hard for a position than your white male counterpart, regardless if you’re overqualified. And if and when you’re “granted” a seat at the table, it typically comes with far less pay and much more scrutiny. Far less room to make mistakes, if you will.
The false, fatigued, and thoroughly impudent narrative of Black women being too incompetent to excel in positions of power needs to conclude, today. Especially in the realm of academia, where the importance of seeing Black faces thrive throughout grounds shared by brilliant minds, is more mountainous now than ever before. The same biased, imbalanced, and lackluster playing cards that are constantly given to our people in this country, can no longer be dealt.
Seeing Black women excel in executive roles such as CEOs, owners & founders, innovators, distinguished board members, and especially as presidents of universities, is vital. Not only for Black women but for all women who come from marginalized backgrounds. We have younger sisters who are growing into magnificent women. Brilliant, kind, intuitive, empathetic, and daring. These traits will be crucial as they maneuver through the world and crossover into adulthood. Nothing is ever promised, but one can almost guarantee that they will certainly face the same ill-favored and disproportionate treatment as Claudine Gay, in whichever career they choose to pursue.
The dialogue surrounding this topic, at the very least, could assist the next generation of Black leaders and thinkers by extending more cognizance to the world and bringing our issues to the forefront. By spreading more awareness toward egregious agendas deeply rooted within the core of certain political groups in this country, we can sow unbiased and uncontaminated intentions of identifying these cases of prejudiced treatment toward Black women and people on a wider margin, into the fabric of true equality and equity, for us. One day, people other than our own and the few allies we have will possess the ability to promptly recognize immoral and inequitable treatment the moment they sense it, and hopefully, extinguish the fire of hatred that used to be suppressed on the surface - but is now clearer than ever.
