Social Media Activism
By Elen Cosio
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Can silence really be deafening? Now more than ever the voices of the people with large platforms have become crucial to the spread of information, yet influencers seem to be opting out. Influencers with millions of followers would much rather spread misinformation than stand up for what is right.
An example of this carelessness would be Jamie Lee Curtis (Tess, in Freaky Friday) who, in support of Israel, posted a photo of children watching a missile come down. Only to be faced with backlash when her fans pointed out that the children in the photo were in fact not Israeli children but Palestinian. But she is not the only one to have received backlash for supporting Israel; other celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Justin Bieber, The Rock, Madonna, and many more, who right after receiving backlash, deleted their posts.
It has become more and more apparent that most of us really care about what our favorite celebrities and influencers have to say, do, suggest and more, we have even begun to identify with their humor and even beliefs. Not to be that type of person but ‘in this day and age’ we idolize our favorite youtubers and social media influencers! We hold them on such a high pedestal! A prime example of this would be Brittany Alexis Tomlinson, also known as Brittnay Broski on her social media platforms, and despite being a more niche influencer, she recently found herself in this type of dilemma. In a private leaked story Tomlinson expressed that she had become annoyed with her fans constantly asking her for her stance on the Palestinian-Israelie conflict. She initially thought that people were asking for her journalistic take on the topic, thus becoming frustrated and stating, “[In] what dystopian universe do I have to address the situation in the Middle East at the top of a podcast episode?”, being a comedian who usually talks about her new TikTok obsessions, I don't blame her. Since then, she has responded to the backlash with solidarity (not a journalistic take) for the pro-Palestine movement, however this is a clear example of the confusion people often experience when faced with heavy topics on social media. Brittney had gotten so much backlash because she herself had pushed for influencers and celebrities to talk about real world issues, on their large platforms.
Social media is always a great tool for spreading information. Perhaps this is why so many users run to influencers for their takes, it is important that we realize when we have to fact check our sources because not everyone you see on social media is trustworthy.
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