Abstract
Social media understood broadly as on-line communication sharing user-generated content has been interpreted as responsible for the rise and reach of diverse social movements, from the Arab Spring (2010-2012) and the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong (2014) to contemporary white supremacists and also the mass resistance to racist police violence in the US (2014-2020). However, despite the hopeful assertions of social media power, the actual impact of social media has been more difficult to verify. The promise of increased democracy has been limited by corporate and government control over public access to social media, while recent criticisms of social media generating “fake news” and disinformation have rubbed some of the gloss off the promise of technological solutions to political problems. This contribution briefly unpacks the impact of corporate control before turning to an assessment of social media use by the nascent social movement coalesced around the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Social Media, Corporate owners, Social movements
