Platforms & Protests: Friends or Foes?
A 2020 article from Current Opinion in Psychology found that social media’s ability to document individual experience, build community and develop “shared social realities” are the most prominent ways it facilitates online activism. Online platforms like social media and video conferencing software have made engaging with activism more accessible for those who can’t attend physical events or access educational resources. For activists who often don’t have access to traditional platforms like mainstream media or academia, social media has given them the power to reach wider audiences. But at the same time, social media is the worst propeller of hate speech, fake news and disinformation about marginalized communities. Could they be a social justice advocate's best friend and worst nightmare?
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Brent Messenger
Fiverr
Daud Mumin
March For Our Lives
Kat Stafford
Associated Press
Tee Wilson
Gideon's Army - Grassroots Army for Children