Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 21:00, 15 July 2014

Hashtag activism is a term coined by media outlets which refers to the use of Twitter's hashtags for internet activism. It is similar to hashtag diplomacy.

Origin

The oldest known mention of the term is from The Guardian, where it was mentioned in context to describe Occupy Wall Street protests.

Notable examples

Kony 2012

Kony 2012 is a short film produced by Invisible Children, Inc. (authors of Invisible Children). It was released on March 5, 2012. The film's purpose was to promote the charity's "Stop Kony" movement to make African cult and militia leader, indicted war criminal and the International Criminal Court fugitive Joseph Kony globally known in order to have him arrested by the end of 2012, when the campaign expired. The film spread virally through the #Kony2012 hashtag.

Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping

After the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping, the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls was created and used in hopes of keeping the story in the news and bringing international attention to it. The hashtag was used by first lady Michelle Obama to raise awareness for the kidnapped girls. The hashtag in itself has received 2 million retweets.

YesAllWomen

#YesAllWomen is a Twitter hashtag and was a social media campaign in which users shared examples or stories of misogyny and violence against women. Originating in response to discussions surrounding the 2014 Isla Vista killings, the hashtag was popular in May 2014, when it gave rise to a grassroots campaign in which women share their personal stories about harassment and discrimination.

Criticism

Hashtag activism has been criticized by some as a form of slacktivism. Fox News's panel of contributors commented that hashtag activism was a "useless exercise in self esteem and that ... I do not know how adults stand there, facing a camera, and say, 'Bring back our girls.' Are these barbarians in the wilds of Nigeria supposed to check their Twitter accounts and say, 'Uh oh, Michelle Obama is very cross with us, we better change our behavior'?" The ease of hashtag activism has led to concerns that it might lead to overuse and public fatigue.

References

1. "#Bringbackourgirls, #Kony2012, and the complete, divisive history of 'hashtag activism'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
2. ^ "George Will: Hashtag Activism "Not Intended To Have Any Effect On The Real World"". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
3. "Hashtag Activism, and Its Limits". NYtimes. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
4. "#BringBackOurGirls: Why hashtag activism has its critics". Mediaite. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
5. Eric Augenbraun (29 September 2011). "Occupy Wall Street and the limits of spontaneous street protest". theguardian. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
6. "News Hour – Trending Now: Kony 2012". Global TV. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
7. Lees, Philippa; Zavan, Martin (March 7, 2012). "Kony 2012 sheds light on Uganda conflict". Ninemsn. Retrieved March 7, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. "Jackson Center To Show KONY2012". The Post-Journal. February 14, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
9. "Uganda rebel Joseph Kony target of viral campaign video". BBC News. March 8, 2012.
10. Myers, Julia (March 7, 2012). "A call for justice". Kentucky Kernel.
11. Neylon, Stephanie (March 7, 2012). "Kony fever hits York!". The Yorker. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
12. Molloy, Mark (March 7, 2012). "Kony 2012: Campaign Shedding light on Uganda Conflict a Huge Online Success". Metro. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
13. Nelson, Sara C. (March 7, 2012). "Kony 2012: Invisible Children Documentary Sheds Light On Uganda Conflict". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
14. "Boko Haram offers to swap kidnapped Nigerian girls for prisoners". Reuters. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
15. ""Hashtag Activism" and the case of the kidnapped Nigerian girls". Silicon Beat. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
16. "Michelle Obama raises pressure over kidnapped schoolgirls". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
17. Medina, Jennifer (May 27, 2014). "Campus Killings Set Off Anguished Conversation About the Treatment of Women". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
18. Grinberg, Emanuella. "Why #YesAllWomen took off on Twitter". CNN Living. CNN. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
19. Pearce, Matt. "#YesAllWomen: Isla Vista attack puts a spotlight on gender violence". LA Times. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
20. Kate O’Neill (June 6, 2014). "Hashtag activism offers chance to take a stand". The Tennesean. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
21. Hodges, Catherine. "Hashtag activism proliferating, but is it effective?". The Herald-Sun. The Herald-Sun. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
22. Richinick, Michele. "Conservatives mock 'Bring Back Our Girls' hashtag". MSNBC. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
23. Sharockman, Aaron (11 May 2014). "PunditFact fact-checks the May 11 news shows". Politifact. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
24. Dijck, José van (2013-03-21). The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. Oxford University Press. pp. 87–. ISBN 9780199970780. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

Further reading

• Dewey, Caitlin (May 8, 2014). "#Bringbackourgirls, #Kony2012, and the complete, divisive history of 'hashtag activism'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

This activism-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Activism
• Internet activism
• Society
• Hashtags
• Activism stubs