SOCIAL MEDIA, POLITICAL CHANGE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Sarah Joseph(2012)

So what’s it about?

The role of social media in progressive political change is examined

•“Does social media deserve the plaudits it has received?” (p146)

•Arab Spring Uprisings 2011 – “Twitter Revolutions” ??– Was Twitter’s role in the uprisings THAT instrumental

to their success?*IT WAS A CATALYST FOR ACTION*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6S8iQ5KSkU

Malcolm Gladwell & The Skeptics

• “SLACTIVISM” (p150)

• “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things people do when they’re not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice” (p150)

• It distracts people from “real” activism > DELUSIONhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

A QUICK MOMENT ON KONY 2012(and social media)

• We like to make fun of KONY. And Facebook. And Twitter.

A lot.• WE are sitting in a world renowned,

democratically free educational institution• It is my democratic right to tell you this• It is your democratic right to listen (or not)• Do we take this for granted?

Clay Shirky & The Believers

• FORMATION OF WELL-CONSIDERED POLITICAL THOUGHT:1. ACCESS TO INFORMATION2. USE OF THAT INFORMATION IN CONVERSTAION AND DEBATE

• “Social media has revolutionized how people form political opinions and has made information so widely accessible that more people than ever are able to develop considered points of view” (p152)

• EYEWITNESS ACOUNTS: “Reporting is no longer confined to traditional sources like journalism”– “Information is spreading faster and farther… [it has] allowed us to see into

many parts of the world that were previously shrouded by oppressive governments or geographical boundaries” (p153)

• “Anyone in the vicinity of an event with audacity and a camera can document brutality and spread it on the internet” (p153)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgCziE-Qxg

ETHAN ZUCKERMAN’S CUTE CAT THEORY OF DIGITAL ACTIVISM

THE FORCES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS(Morozov)

A facilitator of pro-democratic revolution?or

A tool of oppression?

•GPS systems on internet used to track dissidents in Iran and Belarus•‘Friend’ connections can unravel entire dissident networks rather than just one person•Data-mining sensitive keywords•Facial Recognition•“Personalization” (p169)

PLEASE WAKE UP.

• Log onto Facebook• Grab a pen and paper

• Write down 3 to 5 people you ‘stalk’• Write down 3 to 5 ‘things’ you do on the

internet (online shopping, health and fitness blogs, travel/accomodation, celebrity gossip, music)

NOTICE ANYTHING INTERESTING?

CENSORSHIPit’s a fine line..

“Even violence is sometimes legitimate, as in the case of proportionate self-defense against a government crackdown, as

may have occurred in Libya and Syria” (p181)

QUESTION:

In such situations, should social media companies remove pages that advocate fighting back against a violent regime?

Where and when can we make this exception?

“Just because you can mobilize a hundred million people on Twitter… does not mean that

you should” (Morozov, p187)

“Just as social media can coordinate legitimate and profound political mobilization, it can

undoubtedly play a role in provoking mayhem” (p174)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7H02HSip_c&feature=fvwrel

CONCLUSIONS

“Perhaps Gladwell’s skepticism over the revolutionary potential of social media is correct with regard to the developed world” (p186)

BUT“The increase of unfiltered connections between people of different cultural, political, and economic outlooks is likely to have some unprecedented and beneficial consequences for…global activism” (p186)