Online Networks and Social Change

Power to The People: Online Networks and the impact on generating social change in the wake of George Floyds Death

Abstract:

The year 2020 was a year like no other with events that people will remember and talk about for years to come. One such incident was the death of African American civilian George Floyd who was killed whilst being placed under arrest. The reaction from the world is one which no one would expect with worldwide rallies being held for George Floyd’s death as well as many other deaths that came at the hands of racism and injustices. This paper will look at the extent to which social online networks played a crucial role in moving towards change against those oppressed. The paper will look at certain issues key to generating change such as the power of uploading and sharing media through online networking sites, how the networks create a place for communities to evolve as well as a platform in which mobilisation for demonstrating can occur almost instantly with people from all over the world. These topics that will be looked at will demonstrate the true power of online networking sites in times of social change. 

In a year that was like no other, two stand out moments defined the year of 2020; the Covid-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. On 25th May 2020, George Floyd was killed by police officer Derrick Chauvin after Chauvin cut off Mr. Floyd’s breathing in an attempted arrest over a fake $20 bill (Deliso, 2021). The aftermath of this death caught on mobile phone footage from a bystander led to Mr. Chauvin charged with murder along with other officers on the scene charged, and a worldwide uproar seeking justice over equality, police brutality and systematic racism around the world. Police brutality against coloured civilians in America is nothing new to the people of America along with people from around the world with countless stories of deaths at the hands of Police over petty crimes such as minor thefts to deaths over mistaken identities or false assumption where calls for action have gone unheard or have been dealt with in very minor ways. 

While the death of Floyd wasn’t the sole factor in the online outcry and explosion to seek justice, Floyd’s death was the tipping point in a frustrating year for people all over the world where millions have had their lives cut short. The modern-day social/online movement in people seeking justice over police brutality in particular dates back to 2014 where Eric Garner was killed over an “illegal chokehold and uttered the devastating refrain “I can’t breathe” (Dreyer, et al., 2020). The main reasons these deaths have been widely reported on and protested against is due to the raw, uncensored media available to people all around the world from bystanders witnessing these deaths and recording or photographing these incidents on their phones, where in previous times police brutality was a ‘my word against your word’ situation with police holding the advantage due to the unavailability of social networks/ network features, and poor-quality image/video capture devices. In this paper, I will be discussing the impact of social online networks and how these networks have been able to create accountability and information asymmetry, mobilise protests/rallies online and finally how social media has allowed communities and networks to be established and grown online. Throughout this paper I will be referencing from scholarly sources that were written before and during the event such as Hensby, Boulianne and Plant to build the framework and aid my argument, that online networks are one of the most powerful weapons in fighting for justice and social change in the wake of Floyd’s death. 

Traditional media such as television, radio and print media has been a one-way format with those in power such as police, politicians and high-profile figures who have had the money and power to transmit messages and media to people. This loophole has meant previous occasions has resulted in injustices and have meant that those in power could alter media or send out a message that has defended their actions. Today with the ease of access and availability for the public to social online networks the playing field has almost become level with people using their phones like police use when they are performing an arrest; as body cameras capturing what we as the bystander or person protesting are viewing and then allowing that content for the whole world to potentially see. The availability and access to these technological media formats has allowed for people to not just transmit media but to convey the users own message “When used effectively, social media aligns well with the principles of community psychology by enabling individuals to participate in dialogue about social issues, collaborate on change efforts, and establish a sense of community” (Lane, 2019). Numerous cases have been reviewed in which the footage available and the transmission of this footage to social online networks has been the reason in the past have ultimately been the reason why changes were made such as Arab Spring, Occupy Wallstreet to even Rodney King’s violent arrest in 1991 which led to arrests of officers which was caught on camera by a camcorder and then spread has made social online networks a powerful tool in protesting for and creating social change (Sastry & Bates, 2017). Using Floyd as a prime example the importance of the footage captured was not just capturing what was being seen but what was being heard. The chilling sentence said by Floyd of “I can’t breathe” and the police officer seemingly unwilling to acknowledge Floyd’s desperation ultimately gave people the ammunition that police are still as careless as they once were. The power of smartphones and the ease of being able to distribute content almost instantly gave protesters a sense of confidence and security when going out to protest knowing that whatever they endure from law enforcement or officials, it will be seen by not just their families and friends but by potentially millions around the world. 

The impact of smartphones (being a phone with similar functions to a computer such as access internet and online networks etc), played a huge role in the Arab Spring with the use of smartphones being a huge advantage over the government at the time “Smartphones with their cameras became citizens’ weapons in the information war that allowed almost everyone to bear witness, and to organise, in a trend that has been dubbed “mass mobile-isation”’ (Maine, 2020). Through the Arab Spring protests and the ultimate revolution the people created through having a seemingly big advantage over law officials, we can see this being a prime example in the Floyd/BLM protests with people being able to record their support and also being able to capture further miscarriages of justice that occurred during these protests which The Guardian reported as over one thousand violations occurring which without the ability to record and disseminate the footage could have gone unnoticed or undealt with by officials (Thomas, Gabbatt & Barr., 2020).  

The availability of online networking accessories such as smartphones has created a greater advantage for the people protesting, once this media is shared and seen by people it allows for groups to mobilise almost instantly. People have been protesting for equality and police brutality for many years, but last year’s protests were like no others with The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project reporting that “The US has long been home to a vibrant protest environment, demonstrations surged to new levels in 2020. Between 24 May and 22 August, ACLED records more than 10,600 demonstration events across the country… ACLED records an increase of 42% from the 1,400 demonstrations recorded in July 2019… Well over 80% of all demonstrations are connected to the Black Lives Matter movement or the COVID-19 pandemic” (Kishi & Jones, 2020). While these statistics relate to America only, looking around the world we can still see that after Floyd’s death there was a huge increase in rallies, and the reason why so many rallies occurred nationwide in America and worldwide is due to the ease of mobilisation through online networks. While writing on such a recent topic it is hard to find information on the exact impact social networks had on the mobilisation of the particular protests, however, we can see through social media, “[Social Networks] enables large audiences to be engaged and mobilised at short notice and for very little cost. Facebook and Twitter, in particular, are commonly used for this purpose, functioning as ‘stitching technologies’ to quickly assemble networks, share information and recruit actors for political participation” (Hensby, 2015). In the case of George Floyd, we can see that protests from his arrest and consequential death started almost instantly after the arrest was made as social networking was able to create that due to the capabilities of devices such as phones which the overall ease of uploading, sharing and commenting capabilities these networks have with Boulianne, Koc-Michalska and Bimber discussing that media broadcasted on traditional forms of media such as television “creates an audience of spectators, but not an audience of mobilised citizens” (Boulianne, Koc-Michalska & Bimber 2019). Furthermore, the freedom of speech and minimal restrictions on worldwide media networks contributes heavily to the immediate response and mobilisation where the networks have no content editors and a very relaxed gatekeeping system especially when it comes to social issues which in contrast, was not the case before online networking was an issue with traditional media. 

With the internet being used by billions around the world and with a large selection of different social online networking sites and applications, there is an endless amount of room for communities to be formed and for people to come together over shared thoughts on views on minor things such as which sporting team they follow to very topical issues which plague society such as racism and inequality. Since the worldwide protests and rallies following George Floyd’s death, online communities all around the world have been established and grown with people being able to show support for the African American community and their struggles in America, as well as all the other communities around the world who have been and still are being oppressed within their country. The strength of online networks is that these communities that have been generated online can have many people showing support regardless of who they are and where they come from. The user can also choose to remain anonymous or publicly show their support. Robert Plant from the University of Miami discusses that the internet and online networks are such a powerful way for people to come together due to the internet being a perfect middle ground of low costs and a ‘deregulated platform’ “The combination of low-cost access to increasingly powerful computing and networking capabilities combined with a deregulated internet has facilitated the rapid development of a new social phenomena, that of the online community” (Plant, 2004). A prime example of solidarity in people coming together after Floyd’s death was the Blackout Tuesday campaign which consisted of social media users, and companies taking to the time to post a blank black picture with the hashtag #BlackoutTuesday. This simple yet powerful gesture was done by over 28 million users, including business heavyweights such as Apple and Spotify (Sinan, 2020). Online networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram for example, further create the ability for users to be apart as well as show their support towards communities where users have the option to share, like and comment on posts further showing their support and showing their followers important news which can ultimately help raise awareness and help mobilise users to take action whether that be in a physical or online sense. We can see through online networks that celebrities such as sports players, actors and influencers have shown their support much like Apple and Spotify did with the Blackout Tuesday campaign which further strengthens the online communities with people coming together regardless of occupation or background. 

The fight to end racism and police brutality will always be an ongoing battle within different countries around the world due to governments, officials, and people within a role of power who have been brought up in certain ways. Through the George Floyd case, however, we can see that a big step towards standing up against those who have abused their power has been taken not just within America but also around the world. These actions being taken have been shown in both a physical sense and especially through the online sense with online networks being shown as a powerful weapon during times of protests with the ability for people to use online networking platforms in a way to disseminate information, to come together both in an anonymous or public way as well as online networks being able to allow people to quickly mobilise when organising certain protests/rallies. The case of George Floyd is still a relatively new topic and thus there is minimal scholarly information on the topic. Going forward future research on the impact that online networks had on the George Floyd case would be interesting to see as previous protests such as the Arab Spring has shown how critical online networks have been in creating change. 

References

Boulianne, S., Koc-Michalska, K., & Bimber, B. (2020). Mobilizing media: Comparing TV and social media effects on protest mobilization. Information, Communication & Society, 23(5), 642-664. doi:10.1080/1369118x.2020.1713847

Deliso, M. (2021, March 13). Timeline: The impact of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and beyond. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-impact-george-floyds-death-minneapolis/story?id=70999322

Dreyer, B. P., Trent, M., Anderson, A. T., Askew, G. L., Boyd, R., Coker, T. R., . . . Stein, F. (2020). The Death of George Floyd: Bending the Arc of History Toward Justice for Generations of Children. Pediatrics, 146(3), 1-2. doi:10.1542/peds.2020-009639

Hensby, A. (2016). Open networks and secret Facebook groups: Exploring cycle effects on activists’ social media use in the 2010/11 UK student protests. Social Movement Studies, 16(4), 466-478. doi:10.1080/14742837.2016.1201421

Kishi, R., & Jones, S. (2020, September 3). Demonstrations & Political Violence in America: New Data for Summer 2020. Retrieved from https://acleddata.com/blog/2020/09/03/demonstrations-political-violence-in-america-new-data-for-summer-2020/

Lane, J. (2019). Social Media Has Changed the Advocacy Landscape Forever. Retrieved from https://www.naylor.com/associationadviser/social-media-has-changed-the-advocacy-landscape-forever/

Maine, J. (2020, November 30). Arab Spring: The First Smartphone Revolution. Retrieved from https://eminetra.com.au/arab-spring-the-first-smartphone-revolution/76851/

Plant, R. (2004). Online communities. Technology in Society, 26(1), 51-65. doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2003.10.005

Sastry, A., & Bates, K. (2017). When LA Erupted in Anger: A Look Back At The Rodney King Riots. Retrieved from NPR https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/524744989/when-la-erupted-in-anger-a-look-back-at-the-rodney-king-riots

Sinanan, J. (2020, June 4). Blackout Tuesday: The black square is a symbol of online activism for non-activists. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/blackout-tuesday-the-black-square-is-a-symbol-of-online-activism-for-non-activists-139982

Thomas, T., Gabbatt, A., & Barr, C. (2020, October 29). Nearly 1,000 instances of police brutality recorded in US anti-racism protests. Retrieved from The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/us-police-brutality-protest

13 thoughts on “Power to The People: Online Networks and the impact on generating social change in the wake of George Floyds Death

  1. Hi William,

    A really well researched paper, as you mentioned I think it’s important to make the comparison about the limitations of traditional media and recent expansion of social media as an outlet for oppressed groups to have their voices heard.

    I agree with you that the proliferation of smart phones and their capabilities have contributed to the outcome of cases, and your reference to George Floyd’s “I can’t breathe” is strong example of this. It is interesting to compare your example with the earlier Black Lives Matter case of Michael Brown’s shooting by officer Darren Wilson in 2014 that I discussed in my paper. When community members in Ferguson who witnessed the incident began posting live tweets and images from the scene, which rapidly spread due to the correlation of Twitter updating its display features to allow for pictures to be visible and shared on the platform.

    However, officer Wilson wasn’t indicted for Brown’s death but Derek Chauvin was convicted for Floyd’s death, and after reading your paper this made me question how much of an influence online networking sites had in impacting these different outcomes. For example, although the circumstances of each of the cases were different, I wonder what role the public had in shaping the results of each event. Has the increase in social media’s reach over the years provided communities with more power to influence decisions if certain movements can gather enough support?

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Hi Melissa,

      Thanks for your comment! I think that while officer Wilson wasn’t indicted, as many other officers in previous times haven’t been indicted for their crimes they committed, it was all used as ammunition for people protesting after Floyd’s death. I agree that the availability of media and online networks would have played a role in previous injustices going unheard. I saw Floyd’s death as the ‘perfect storm’ for these situations and not just for injustices in America, but around the world. 2020 was a frustrating year for many with Covid-19 as I discussed in my paper, however the people of Hong Kong were and still are having issues with their government, Australia was having issues with deaths in custody particularly relating to the Indigenous community. George Floyd was a blowing point for the people of America and then once that went off I believe the rest of the world joined and followed with them as they all had a reason to speak out and many felt connected to how Floyd was treated by the police.

      Thanks!

  2. Hi William!
    Great paper! I absolutely agree that the fight to end racism and police brutality will always be an ongoing battle within different countries around the world as a result of the hegemony held within governments, officials and people with higher power. There are too many cases like George Floyd today and the awareness social media has brought on these cases has increased. However, bringing awareness to issues regarding race in my opinion does not necessarily mean that these cases will be eradicated nor does it mean justice for the victims.
    I also agree that technology has stemmed social movements and like I’ve mentioned in my paper, social media enables the formation of online communities which transpires into something bigger in the offline world. As social media has become a significant part of our lives and is prevalent everywhere, it is nearly impossible not to be connected or educated with what is going on in the world regarding racial injustices. Technologies such as our smartphones allow us to record and capture moments within seconds which can then be posted onto different social platforms in order to raise awareness or educate people on topics that I believe are extremely vital and important.
    However, as much as online networks are an important factor in establishing social change, I don’t think it actually does much as it does raise awareness but awareness only goes so far, it does not necessarily allow for changes within the social system.

    I’ve written a paper on the #MeToo movement and social media and I’d love to hear your feedback on this 🙂
    Here’s the link if you’re interested
    https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/04/25/social-media-platforms-are-able-to-establish-online-sexual-harassment-communities-within-the-social-media-and-communities-stream-to-provide-significant-necessary-support-to-sexual-harassmen/

    1. Hi Saranya,

      Thanks for your comment. As you disagree with my opinion within this paper, I also disagree with your comment you made at the end. I think that online networks do creation awareness (as you agreed with) however I think that the awanress is then turned into action. While the social change might not be immediate, I believe that the awareness to the younger generations such as students can then turn this awareness into a potential future job that helps people who have been victims of injustice.

      Finally I also think that the awareness from George Floyd that then transitioned into world wide protests, not just protests in the city where George Floyd was killed or the country he was killed in but protests around the world is more than just people being aware of the situation but actually doing something about it. In many countries such as Australia, governments have had their arm’s forced into having discussions related to injustices past and present and how to prevent them going forward which I think is generating social change.

      Thanks!

  3. Hi William,
    You have illustrated some insightful ideas about the use of technology in helping social movement. Nowadays, technology play a vital role in the life of every individuals. Smartphones have the ability to record high quality contents and immediately post it on social media platforms. As I mentioned in my paper, this illustrates that the barriers towards content creation have been lowered due to the aspect of participatory culture. You rightly mentioned that online networks is a powerful weapon during times of protests with the ability for people to use online networking platforms in a way to disseminate information. However, most people do not have access to technology in underdeveloped countries. How would they voice out their issues without the use of online networking platform?

    My paper examine how internet users are turning into active content creator and it coincide with part of your findings: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/04/26/amateurism-vs-professionalism-who-will-prevail-in-the-digital-era/
    Hope to hear from you soon.

    1. HI Igensh,

      Thanks for the comment! In regards to your question about underdeveloped countries and how they would be able to have a voice with technology being more limited for them, I think that using George Floyd as an example, the whole world has had their eyes open to injustices in America with Floyd, as well as around the world within their own country and other countries. While it would be potentially harder fo underdeveloped countries to have a voice, I think with the power of technology and the spreadability of media, just one video or image could potentially be all that is needed these days in order to get a reaction from millions around the world.

      Thanks!

  4. The advent of online social networks and the technology that propagates them (Such as smartphones) are vital components to the movement of social change. Like you mention in your paper, the ability to capture and share the injustices we see as citizens in our everyday lives creates accountability to those committing these injustices like never before. This is especially potent in the case of police brutality and in particular, the death of George Floyd.

    However, I think it is important to always consider the nature of information we gleam from these online social networks. I discuss in my paper how easy it is to incite political participation based off of information received through an online social network and how this information might not be as legitimate as it seems. Video evidence can appear to present an open and shut case (And in the case of George Floyd, I believe it does), but unless we ourselves are there behind the camera, we can never claim to understand 100% of the context behind any given situation. This is doubly true when considering information of different formats, that are more easily manipulated than video (Such as the sharing of news posts, or even the distribution of posts made by others containing political themes).

    Like I said, online social networks are an important driving factor for social change but we as humans are prone to bias and a lot of the time willing to believe things without having done our due diligence. Whether social change happens for the better or worse, I think it is important that we always consider the nature of any information that is powerful enough to sway our opinion on the social issues that drive this change.

    1. Hi Jordan,

      A great point made and I think it is important to understand that with every good point there is usually a negative point associated with it. The ability of technology and the rapid advancement does create the opportunity for people to edit/alter footage which could drive a protest over false information.

      I think in the case of George Floyd the response from the American public was and the unity showed from people connecting all around the world was something that has never been seen before in the world and you can link that to the availability of social media being the main factor.

      Thanks!

      1. Hi Will,

        Agreed, the George Floyd case has brought nothing but positive change in my opinion. Hopefully we see more of these positive changes and rises to action being brought upon as a result of social media. Just hope that people can always remain wary of information they receive online and as always, make sure to second guess something before putting their belief into it.

        Thanks!

  5. With such ongoing acrimonious racial profiling and abuse, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Social media and mobile devices are now such a powerful weapon to wield. I pondered touching upon this within my paper; with such devise rhetoric being spoken by public officials in this period of US history, I feel it enabled some to forget law and common decency. Sadly, it is all too tragic that we are still hearing such stories of these happening, even today, considering the momentous participation worldwide in response to George Floyd’s death. We can be hopeful that this sort of lawlessness will be continued to brought to justice with such social media networks and technologies that support it.

    1. Hi Emma, thanks for the comment!

      Going off what you said towards the end of this sort of lawlessness I think that the availability of video taking/image capturing devices is one of the most important tools to ending this lawlessness as I said in my paper the people are using like police use their body camera; to record what is happening on the spot to make sure everyone can see!

      Thanks

  6. It’s hard to keep track as so many people of colour have been killed by police in America. I hope that more smartphones might lead to less violence…
    However, deaths of indigenous people in custody in Australia are not filmed and so are attracting less attention.
    Thanks for your paper!

    1. Hi Sonia, I agree that Indigenous death in custody is still a burning issue within Australia. Hopefully this paper that I have written has shown how these issues are slowly changing for the better.

      Also as you have said with every good is a bad, and while smartphones have led to some issues like the United States Capitol Riots, however I believe that more good has come from the availability technology and smartphones than bad and in particular the George Floyd Death has shown how quickly the world can come together.

      Thanks for the comment!

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