FACT CHECK

Over the course of history, activism has been an outlet for marginalized people to express their struggles. In the past 20 years, social media has been a place activism has boomed. From posting events to just plain connecting people with like minds, social media has influenced how modern activism operates. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines digital activism as a “form of activism that uses the Internet and digital media as key platforms for mass mobilization and political action.” Many people subscribe to the various media platforms to connect with people of like minds and engage with the news. In an article by the American Press Institute, a study showed “nearly 9 in 10 Twitter users in the study (86%) say they use Twitter for news, and the vast majority of those (74%) do so daily.”

 

One feature of digital activism is its ability to reach a large audience. From there, digital activists hope that that the people they reach actually connect with their lawmakers to actually achieve change. To do this, many activist movements have turned to hashtags. From hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter to #MeToo to #TakeAKnee, political hashtags inspire people to participate in these movements, as well as politics overall.

In research survey done by Pew Research Center, the survey demonstrates that Americans feel like “[social media] sites are very or somewhat important for accomplishing a range of political goals, such as getting politicians to pay attention to issues (69%...) or creating sustained movements for social change (67%)”. Citizens believe in their ability to achieve change. Social media is just the tool to do this. From social media users’ posts, it is up to lawmakers and the rest of society to determine whether posting actually reaches their representatives, inspires them to change laws, and see through the rest of the process.