shannonmleahy-blog

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Is online action is merely ‘slacktivism’? The Parkland survivors, British petitions and the Ice Bucket Challenge

The online landscape has become a settlement for activists from all over the world to support and fight for causes that they believe need to be addressed. However, there has been much discussion around the tangible benefits of online activism, and whether it actually has any physical contribution to political or social change, or whether it is merely ‘slacktivism’;  supporting a cause via the internet through little time, effort or any actual involvement (Rotman, et al., 2011).

What can be considered to be authentic, “real activism” should, according to some, involve high risk for a goal that will be difficult to accomplish, and that should support sustainable “social movement goals” (Butler, 2011, p. 66). Something such as the tireless campaigning of the surviving teenagers of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on social media could be considered to be “real activism” via this definition. The teenagers, including David Hogg and Emma González, have shared their outspoken views on their social media accounts, all at the risk of being criticised and humiliated by senior politicians, journalists and celebrities as well as receiving death threats and condemnation from social media users and the National Rifle Association. Further to the survivors activism and campaigning on their social media channels, the youth organisation EMPOWER introduced the idea of a mass ‘walkout’ where teachers and students were encouraged to walkout of their classrooms and schools as a form of protest and remembrance, all via their website and their social media channels. The walkout was a massive success, with around 2,800 schools in the US taking part.

However, other forms of digital activism can be seen to involve low risk and low investment and have therefore been labelled as ‘slacktivism’. One example that has been used to epitomise this low risk nature of digital activism is the signing a petition online, in particular in Britain. Twitter accounts such as @rejectedpetitions have been set up to mock the often-ridiculous suggestions that are submitted and rejected by parliament, showing the occasionally pointless nature of online action.

A selection of tweets from the @rejectedpetitions account.

However, the term ‘slacktivism’ cannot always be used as an insult to activists- many campaigns that were labelled as having no genuine involvement have been extremely successful in increasing awareness and raising funds for their causes. One of the most notable digital ‘slacktivist’ campaigns was Ice Bucket Challenge, which swept the social media landscape with force, with celebrities and other social media users getting involved. The campaign was criticised as being “A ghastly, narcissistic, freakshow, combining the worst elements of social media", however it generated over $100 million for charity.

In summary, although ‘slacktivism’ could be said to involve signing digital petitions and the Ice Bucket Challenge due to the narcissistic elements involved, however I believe it is far too cynical and simplistic to assume that these low risk contributions to digital activism have no beneficial impact on the causes they aim to support. These forms of digital activism should not be discouraged by those that believe they have no impact, as previous ‘slacktivism’ campaigns have found huge success in being accessible for all social media users, encouraging vast numbers of individuals to get involved and raise awareness.

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#Repealthe8th: A case study for community deliberation and participation

The internet's potential to increase political participation has been debated over time, with many global events triggering discussions on both the benefits and disadvantages of the platforms democratic discussions. By using the internet for political involvement, users can exercise democracy “without the limits of time, space, and other physical conditions”, allowing individuals who have access to the internet to share their views as well as being exposed to others  (Hacker & Van Dijk, 2000, p.1).

Twitter in particular has become a platform ideal for debate – it allows an otherwise fragmented society composed of usually solitary individuals to come together, creating a ‘patchwork’ quilt of overlapping and contrasting beliefs centred around specific groups, events and topics (Bruns & Burgess, 2011, p.6). A contemporary example that shows the full breadth that Twitter can offer in political issues is the #Repealthe8th movement regarding the Irish abortion referendum in May of this year. Millions of Irish citizens around the world have shared their personal stories, opinions as well as their outrage at the referendum. #Repealthe8th allowed users to follow Tweets regarding those urging others to vote yes to repeal the amendment, with opposing hashtags such as #Savethe8th and #Loveboth attempting to alter opinions towards a pro-life perspective.

There are both positive and negative aspects to political discussions such as repeal the 8th occurring online. Due to the faceless and also ‘ruleless' nature of political discussion on social media channels such as Twitter, it could be said that these discussions could be more helpful to democratic deliberation due to the avoidance of politeness, which is present in face-to-face discussion and which can often hinder honest opinions from being shared. Further to this, Twitter gave many women the courage to share their traumatic experiences of foetal healthcare and rights in Ireland. For example, women who had travelled from Ireland to England for abortions were able to freely share their stories honestly, something that would be harder to do in person.

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of me losing the last of triplets in a pregnancy that was badly affected by the 8th. I wasn't able to campaign using my own experience but it was poignant that a year later this country voted overwhelmingly to #Repealthe8th

Twitter user sharing her experience with the 8th amendment

However, many of these women who shared their stories or whom campaigned to repeal the amendment have fallen victim to mass trolling from pro-lifers around the world. In retaliation to this abuse, accounts such as @repeal_shield were established to provide users with the tools needed to block anti-choice information from timelines and mentions, forming ‘echo chambers’ which are created when social media users look for information and sources that are consistent with their own views. By doing so, they consequently filter out counteracting views, something that could potentially be detrimental to democratic discussion, as people are closing themselves off from anything that does not match their belief system (Flaxman, Goel, & Rao, 2016).

To conclude, ultimately in the lead up to the Irish abortion referendum Twitter held more importance in political debate in comparison to main stream news. Users were able to discuss and educate others on their opinions and views and actively encouraged everyone to vote to ensure a fair result. With the majority of voters aged between 18-34, and with the majority of Twitter users falling between the ages of 16-24  it is valid to say that young people are continuing to rely less on conventional political news due to the subjective reporting. Social media platforms such as Twitter allow users to share unfiltered and real opinions that hold more weight than the traditional news methods, and that can shape others views on controversial topics such as this referendum (Baumgartner & Morris, 2006).

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“Everybody's watching each other in North Korea”: How surveillance is both a weapon for the powerful and the powerless

Surveillance has become embedded in our everyday lives, in both the poorest and richest societies in the world. It has been used for both good causes and the bad – but for both the quote stands- “...under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively are less free” (Snowden, 2014). This blog post will explore how surveillance is utilised by both social status groups to meet their goals.

Firstly, it can be argued that surveillance was created as a tool for those in power, and that it still dominated by those people. A highly relevant example of this is North Korea, which has been labelled as the ‘surveillance state’, known for its oppressive and rife scrutiny of its citizens (Amnesty International, 2018). The countries state security department, also known as ‘Bureau 27’ monitor all phone calls and internet activities by using advanced technologies. Punishment for those found using these methods of communication can result in death or imprisonment and torture in hidden prison camps. Even on a neighbourhood level, citizens are encouraged to conduct their own surveillance with every village being monitored by an official who ensures 'good’ behaviour in the group. To support and to also monitor the official, police conduct surprise home checks as well as surprise checks of workplaces (Byman & Lind, 2010). These officials are manipulated by the state to feel as though they are seen as important tools of surveillance, when really, they are being used for the dictatorships agenda.

Moving on to surveillance used by the powerless, many whistleblowers have used data leaks and the internet to survey the powerful. Take the WikiLeaks scandal as an example. However, there is a form of digital surveillance that differs to previous surveillance used by ordinary citizens to reprimand those above them. In a retaliation to police brutality, and the countless deaths of Black and Hispanic men, women and children, social media users have begun to film any form of aggressive interaction involving a police officer. After filming, users share the content to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as sending it to news organisations. One particular, graphic, but necessary example was the shooting of African American Philando Castile, who was shot by a police officer whilst his partner Facebook live streamed their interaction with the police officer. The officer was unknowingly being filmed, however; after this instance people have made it clear that they are filming the officers in an attempt to control and rationalise their behaviour. This has become almost a necessity for many American citizens, so much so that an app named ‘Mobile Justice’ has been developed to help citizens record and document their interactions with the police or any other form of law enforcement in an easy and secure way with a direct method of reporting law aggression.

Overall, it can be said that both the powerful and powerless have access to surveillance methods, however powerful institutions such as governments can afford and source more technologically advanced forms of surveillance and are able to influence their citizens to support them as we saw in North Korea. However, the ‘powerless’ can still create and control meaningful and powerful forms of surveillance, all through their mobile phone and social ties. Can we even call them powerless?

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How has the digital landscape modified how political parties act? Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party

The mediatisation of politics has been a long process through which media industries have grown independently away from politics, whilst politics has become more dependent on the media (Stromback & Van Aelst, 2013). Political parties and their candidates have had to adapt to social media due to the accessibility it gives them to potential voters, however having a direct line to other social media users can often make them a cause for mockery or direct criticism.

From looking at @JeremyCorbyn’s account, it is clear to see that he, or his Twitter representative, hardly interacts or responds to his constituents, fellow party members or other social media users at all. Although Corbyn captured the hearts of young social media users whilst also being endorsed by celebrities like Stormzy, most of his tweets attack the Conservative party, or attempt to make people aware of issues in the current Conservative government. For example, the Conservatives trialled voter ID laws in the recent local elections which requires voters to produce a form of photographic ID to reduce voter fraud. Research has shown that these measures will reduce turnout for black, Hispanic, working-class and trans voters. Voter fraud is a minor problem in the UK, and this introduction has been suggested to be a “ruse to deplete the labour vote” (O’Hagan, 2018). Corbyn retweeted a video made by Labour MP Cat Smith, explaining the proposed changes, explaining the risks associated and explaining Labours open policies to voting which received high interaction and shock at the change.

Interview with Cat Smith, Labour MP, on BBC Breakfast

Following from this, Corbyn’s promising left-wing message energised young voters in the last British general election, as well as his outwardly genuine, plain-speaking personality. With young voters increasing the votes for Labour in the same election with a 66.4% turnout in voters aged 18-24, Corbyn and the Labour party definitely felt the benefits of attracting young voters, who would share, debate and educate other social media or general internet users to vote for Labour. However, their recent attempt to ride the wave of young voters has failed. The ‘Labour Live’ festival was organised by the party, which will include performances from bands, speakers from politics and literature as well as campaign training and art exhibitions. However, ticket sales have been extremely slow with only 2,500 of 15,000 tickets being sold, so much so that union supporter Unite has had to step in and give away thousands of tickets for free. It has been rumoured that this venture will lead to a large monetary loss for the party, and Labour’s trust in the unreliable young digital demographic led to disappointment.

Ultimately, social media can lead both to the demise and to the rescue of politicians and political parties. However, political parties should learn from Labour to not rely on the support given by young people and act off of this – support on social media can be superficial, and I believe many young people joined in with the hysteria around Labour prior to the general election due to their promises on abolished tuition fees, without particularly being invested in the party at all. Furthermore, I believe that leading politicians in the UK should use their social media platforms as a two-way form of communication, rather than pumping out information about their party or attacking others.

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From gatekeepers to gatewatchers: Why journalists no longer hold the key to political information

In the age of print and broadcast media, journalists were considered to be information gatekeepers - they policed the gates of “publishing technologies” controlled by media organisations to ensure that only content they deemed suitable was passed on to audiences (Bruns, 2003, p.3). However, since the development of digital technologies and communication platforms, online users are now able to share political information first hand. Because of this, journalists have become ‘gatewatchers’ who harvest the internet for content to enhance their reporting. This post will explore events and styles of citizen journalism and user generated comment and their effects on journalism.

Due to the drop in circulation of print newspapers, television viewing figures decreasing by 3-4%a year and with the increase of internet usage, society now has the tools that were traditionally owned by journalists and news organisations. This proliferation of internet usage has created a group of digitally liberated individuals coined ‘Netizens’: young people with a “high sense of individual purpose, less sense of political obligation...and mistrust [of] the media” (Heppell, 2001 in Robertson, 2009, p. 287). The Arab Spring can be used as an exemplary example of how user generated content contributed to journalism by providing publications with political information. The citizens of Tunisia and Egypt used their social media channels to share footage of protests that were not being aired by their national media. By doing so they generated more support for their cause but also encouraged other oppressed nations to take action against oppressive regimes. A lot of this content was then used by news organisations for their reporting. This shows how journalists now listen and react to noise on social media to broaden their reporting, and to also get a first-hand experience, strengthening their journalism.

Another side of this shift in political power between journalists and audiences is due to the loss of trust in the mainstream media to report on politics. As ‘Netizens’ mistrust the media and have less political obligation, they offer their transparent opinions and views without fear of reprimand to educate their audiences. This can be seen in online satirical news publications such as The Rochdale Herald, where 51% of 200 articles featured a political theme, as found in my dissertation. This type of citizen journalism, although satirical, is often considered as being more real than real news due to its methods of creating social critique in ways that mainstream news is incapable of (Berkowitz & Schwartz, 2016). With stories mocking every decision Donald Trump and Theresa May makes, online news satire conveys political information and commentary in an obvious yet sarcastic manner, which resonates with audiences who have grown tired of the mainstream medias subjective and censored reporting on political events.

One of many articles on The Rochdale Herald’s website mocking Donald Trump

When all is considered, the role of journalists providing political information has shifted from them holding the keys to what information was shared with the public and what was hidden. Now, due to the development of new platforms, new communication styles a and mass political events we have seen a rise in citizen journalism, user generated content such as that created by the protesters of the Arab Spring and news satire. Ordinary citizens have seized the power from media institutions to share honest political news with other users of the internet.