Human Rights & Social Media

 

    Social media has increased awareness regarding human rights violations, unequal treatment, and unjust actions, among other issues such as climate change, the effectiveness of governments, and corruption. In the United States movements affecting men and women, black, white, hispanic individuals have gained more awareness through the use of social media. Social media is unlike anything before because of the video evidence, and personal accounts of the users. With social media there has been an influx of violent evidence surfacing online. Members of terrorists groups will post videos taking the lives of innocent human beings, police camera footage of disturbing encounters are released for the world to see, even Facebook live broadcasts domestic or other violence in real time and will remain online for weeks if not years. Social media shows the true horrors of the world without the biases of corporate news broadcasting networks. 

    Where would we be without the accounts of social media? Social media outcries often result in changes, or action on a specific issue. For example, the outcry on social media with individuals who did not want mask mandates eventually won out, most states do not have masks mandates and restrictions are being lifted slowly. Social media can also help drive change. During the #MeToo movement numerous women were encouraged and empowered to share their truth even if the results were not what they ultimately wanted. Even today the power of social media proves to be powerful. Russia is on the verge of invading Ukraine, and without social media I would be unaware of this fact. The outcry on social media in support of Ukraine shows how connected social media users all over the world continue to be.

    Social media is not the holy grail to all of our problems. With social media also comes misinformation, and the ability for hashtags to be flooded with black squares or any other image. Social media also can not change governments and institutions overnight. Social media lays the groundwork, but activism in local communities is still necessary. 

    Social media has definitely increased our ability to access information, and connect with different cultures, ideas, and people. With social media comes another task, to use the technology to empower and to inform the masses, not just the elite. Social media has the potential to be a tool in the battle for equality, empowerment, and peace, but only if we choose to use it in that way. 

Link to Article: https://www.humanrightspulse.com/mastercontentblog/how-social-media-is-changing-the-face-of-human-rights-activism