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Corporations may pay individuals with large followings large sums of money to push their agenda. Estimates show that they are paid from between 3,000 to $5,000 per post. It’s no surprise that they may spend between $20,000 to $100,000 per campaign. We’re in an age where information equals power and influence. Data collected by Forbes states that social media influencers can make up to an average of 300k a year on specific social sites (YouTube being most profitable). Clearly social media during the past decade has shaped up as the most powerful platform for getting your message across.
The big corporations seem to think so. Though many of the elites use its power for profit, there’s a side to social media propelling the little guy. Movements like Black Lives Matter, and overseas the Arab Spring would not have happened if not for social media. It's an invaluable tool in keeping people informed. It helps communities organize and demonstrate. Most importantly it bypasses mainstream news outlets that overlook news relevant to people of color.
According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center and by meta-data by Oxford Bibliography minorities are the most political online.
Meta-data is a collection of various papers and studies relating to civic participation. Due to the unique circumstances black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans face this makes sense. Social media is an outlet for demands in social change. I believe this reflects a history of the American philosophy of progress. The internet itself has been coined the last haven for free speech.
The online world has in many instances become a platform for the disenfranchised. A place to demonstrate a collective power. Instant and aggressive feedback. As recent as [2016?] social media has shaped the political landscape. With Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and, Bernie Sanders relying heavily on social media in order to propel both their agendas and their campaigns.
The movement was started in 2013 by three women using social media. Alicia Garza, Patrice Cullors, and Opal Tometi worked together using Twitter and Tumblr to share stories and propel the movement to the mainstream. Garza in a response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman unintentionally coined the ingenious phrase #Blacklivesmatter. Between then and now their movement has expanded with many chapter across the country. Organizers, influencers, data collectors. All to expose the current state of Police brutality.
The night of the acquittal she ended her night by tweeting.' This was only the beginning. Police brutality has a consistent part of this nation's history. Only recently has technology and social media been able to provide the youth with the tools to expose this. Regardless the mainstream is unlikely to report on it without a bias. Kwame Rose a major BLM organizer stated that 'This is a way of saying 'Hey mainstream media you're doing something really bad! Here's this pattern what are you going to do about it?' The BLM movement didn't stop there, there are a plethora of organizations that have sprung up because of BLM. Like the Native Lives Matter, which advocates for the indigenous people of this continent. Especially in Canada where they experience mass amounts of oppression and abuse. For example, NLM has helped create human shields stopping oil corporations from trespassing into native lands. At the very least they have stalled the process and brought attention to the corrupt cooperation between the state and oil companies who have no regard for public health.
In America social media has been a constant tool for organizing and creating solidarity across lines. Providing a platform for long term advocacy and support to the communities that need it most. Overseas the middle east and north Africa have had their own use for social media similiarly to us but not the same. Eight years ago what started as a regular day became a revolution. In Tunisia the people of the country rose up to bring down an oppressive regime. In response the government shut down the internet seeing it a threat to the regime. Though that didn't stop the people from tearing it all down. This is a clear demonstration of the sheer power that rapid communication can have. Not long after Egypt followed, then Libya, and many others after. The rapid spread of information became a ralling call for all the oppress to demonstrate. Using civil disobedience and then revolution in Libya's case during the Civil War.
The major takeaway from these two fantastic miracles of technology is that it can provide power to the powerless. As it stands social media is changing rapidly every day. It may not be always so uncensored as it is now. Though it can put the voice of the little guy on level ground with mass media. Social media is many things all at the same time. Both a disruptor and an equalizer. The many advantages outweigh the negatives. I believe that with social media the youth can dictate the direction out world is going to. Due to new voices like Alicia Garza and the young people of the Islamic world. They bypass the older more established voices to pose a challenge to the status quo. Young people are powerful, they are smart, and they demand change. They make their voice heard, bypassing propaganda spreading misinformation.
Based on much of the evidence the internet is largely a tool for the disenfranchised. Net neutrality is a threat to that platform. The only true way to combat this is to maintain a degree of Social Media literacy. Learn to check for factual information on the web. Using critical thinking skills understand why certain messages may be targeted to you.
Influencers on Social Networks Deliver the Right Information. (2021, Dec 09). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/influencers-on-social-networks-deliver-the-right-information-essay
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