Abstract
One of the biggest trending hashtag on social media (specifically Twitter) in the last decade was the use of #BlackLivesMatter. This was related to the unlawful killing of an African American civilian, George Floyd who was murdered by a white police officer after being placed under arrest. Soon after this tragic event, ‘George Floyd’ became a household name, recognised all around the world along with the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’. This incident and social media response to it initiated a surge of protests, rallies, riots, and online controversies fighting against racism and the injustices committed by the American police force. Twitter became a vocal point with hashtag culture being used to condemn the police force and defend black people who have to deal with injustice everyday (Blevins et al., 2018). In this paper, I will be discussing the response from people around the world in support of Black Lives Matter in the form of hashtags and posts on social media, specifically Twitter. This topic can demonstrate the uproar from communities around the world and allow everyone to have a voice and opinion on social networking sites. Further proving that having an online presence and vocally sharing your opinion with likeminded people can collectively assert a social change and movement, being heard all around the world.
Introduction
On May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derrick Chauvin after the police officer was responding to a call regarding a purchase of cigarettes with a fake $20 bill (Vang et al., 2021). Chauvin killed Floyd by placing his knee on Floyds neck for 8 minutes, cutting off breathing circulation and eventually causing Floyd to go into cardiac arrest during his confrontation. Floyd was showing no aggression towards the police officers and repeatedly told them ‘I can’t breathe’ and that he was scared. Floyd was also telling the officers that he was claustrophobic and struggled with entering at the back of the police officers car. After bystander video footage and police body camera footage was released to the public, the demands for repercussions came fourth for Chauvin and his peers as these appeared to be acts of racism and injustice. This backlash came in the forms of protests, rallies, riots and a mass wave of social media storms, especially through Twitter and the use of hashtags. In this paper, I will be arguing how social change can come through technologies, specifically the use of hashtags on social media in support of the Black Lives Matter movement through academic resources and real life voices.
Twitter & Social Movement
Twitter is a social media platform founded in 2006, initially having a 140 character limit for posting small tweets (Fischer et al., 2011). The platform started with 1.6 million users back in 2009 and has now grown to be used by 206 million people a day, also growing the character length to 280 characters, allowing more information to be posted and spread through the platform (Perez, 2018). There is a common use across users of Twitter, and that is the use of ‘hashtags’ with the use of the symbol “#”. Hashtags allow users to tweet about a particular subject and allow other users to commonly find the post with the same hashtags, or allow users to ‘re-tweet’, sharing the user’s tweet allowing for more users to see (Fischer et al., 2011). This mass use of media and the use of hashtags was prominent at starting a social movement of Black Lives Matter, a hashtag ‘#BlackLivesMatter’ and ‘#BLM’, a statement that grew to be used by millions around the world soon to come.
We can see the start of racial injustice through the social protest In the winter of 2012 when a 17 year old Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin was murdered by George Zimmerman. Months followed with a mass protest in response to the delay and laziness of police arrest of Zimmerman and media controversy of Martin’s criminalisation. ‘Black Lives Matter (BLM)’ first appeared on Facebook after this incident and has become associated with the demand for justice for coloured people in America, and across the world regarding police brutality, racism, prejudice and healthcare (Ince et al., 2017). In the summer of 2014, Michael Brown and Eric Garner died during an altercation with the police. This started another hashtag wave of #BLM about the controversy of police violence on black people.
Lee Rainie, a director of internet, science and technology research at Pew suggests that a hashtag is very powerful and a core part of a movement, also that this movement can be a core coming from a hashtag with a “series of really painful and really powerful conversations are taking place in a brand-new space” (Niraj, 2016). A small phrase, label and statement ‘Black Lives Matter’ has had an everlasting power against racial discrimination and injustice and has been used almost every time there has been a racial protest or movement since the start in 2012.
Like every protest, rally and movement, there is often an opposite movement, bent on causing destruction or belittling the initial movement. The opposition to Black Lives Matter has come about to be All Lives Matter, White Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. All Lives Matter and White Lives Matter has been used to suggest that there isn’t a discrimination against black people and with an argument that all races has been killed in the past, usually with the use of Confederate flags and white supremacy symbols. Blue Lives Matter has been used and has grown in the last few years to stand up for the police force, especially in America after there has been protests against the racism and police violence in law enforcement (Niraj, 2016). We can see that as the hashtag Black Lives Matter increased in popularity and volume on social media, counter-hashtags also came about to bring BLM down. The use of hashtags on Twitter can change a course of events and create severe engagements to further a movement. Through this, users all around the world are able to share their thoughts and opinions and come together to forward this movement, or even debate and fight against it. #BlackLivesMatter gives users a small but powerful way to express their stand with racial injustice and freely advertise their opinions.
Political actions and social movements can be seen to have a great public response due to Twitter’s hashtag and social media presence. The use of #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter can be seen to have increased public engagement and criticism of police killings of unarmed Black men which has been inspected from over 860,000 tweets of the hashtag (Blevins et al., 2018). From this, it can be seen that users have a more ‘informationally rich conversation’ with others that use #BlackLivesMatter rather than people that used #AllLivesMatter. Twitter is an effective form of expression for people that care or want to know about social injustice but also further relate to the topics of Black Lives Matter, using particular hashtags. Another factor when looking into the public range of the Black Lives Matter movement is the freedom of expression and stories on Twitter about individuals telling their own stories and injustice using the hashtag. This furthers the cause of justice towards racial prejudice as now everyone who has access to Twitter can freely share their own story, furthering the social change. In today’s digital age, mainstream media such as news outlets, do not have all the power as they did in the past. With the use of social media and hashtags, this has disrupted the fact and acceptance norm of conversation by the media. Hashtags used alongside Black Lives Matter such as #IfTheyGunnedMeDown and #ICantBreathe allows the tweets to be reflective of the individuals own life and circumstance and allows them to give voice to their own injustice or experience (Blevins et al, 2018). The hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown allowed users of all races to personalise their experience and related it to the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Twitter users used the hashtag to express their injustice and racial discrimination of police officers based on the users skill colour and appearance while White twitter users used the hashtag to bring awareness of their own white privilege and how they have been treated differently by police but in similar situations. The use of hashtag on Twitter demonstrates how the police and media have treated people of all races differently and that they can actively enforce injustice if the person is of colour. Twitter and the online networks were instrumental in developing the Black Lives Matter movement and furthering justice for people of colour in America, but also around the world. It has been almost a decade since the hashtag Black Lives Matter has appeared, and it is more impactful as it is today than it was back then. In America, 30 States have enacted police oversight and reform laws, including 16 states limiting or banning the use of neck restraints by police officers and 10 states requiring and increasing body camera funding for law enforcement (Blevins et al, 2018). This all came a year after the killing of George Floyd, which possibly couldn’t of happened without the Black Lives Matter movement and use of #blacklivesmatter on Twitter.
Conclusion
An event like what happened to George Floyd, should have never happened in the first place, however his death was not in vain. With public outcry for justice after his murder, we can see that the Black Lives Movement is supported all around the world and will protest and fight if one person is wrongfully murdered or an any form of racial injustice occurs. The Black Lives Matter movement became nationally recognised and millions of people tweeting a form of #BlackLivesMatter, the call for justice became a vital cry and became a household topic around the world. With tweets going out everyday, news outlets talking about the movement, and almost every online network discussing it in some form, the awareness for injustice became powerful, giving everyday people a chance to speak up, and to even share their own experiences. The use of hashtags can not only be seen to be used and utilised in a social movement, but also be able to help develop and further a movement in itself. From this we can see how powerful online networks are and how powerful hashtags are, being able to spread topics and events all around the world within seconds can cause a rise of power to the people. With this spread of digital publicity, we can only hope that a police officer, or any individual with prejudice in their mind will think twice before attempting to commit an atrocious act of evil. This paper has discussed past and present issues of injustice and prejudice and how social media such as Twitter can cause a social change. Through academic sources and research, the time for public expression and call for social injustice is now and will forever be as relevant as it is today. With more users signing up for Twitter and other social media platforms everyday, and the use of technologies growing, there is no way these incidents can be hidden and more movements will come about.
References
Blevins, J. L., Lee, J. J., McCabe, E. E., & Edgerton, E. (2019). Tweeting for social justice in #Ferguson: Affective discourse in Twitter hashtags. New Media & Society, 146144481982703. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819827030
Counting characters. (n.d.). Developer.twitter.com. https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/counting-characters#:~:text=In%20most%20cases%2C%20the%20text
Fischer, E., & Reuber, A. R. (2011). Social interaction via new social media: (How) can interactions on Twitter affect effectual thinking and behavior? Journal of Business Venturing, 26(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2010.09.002
Grimes, A. (2019). #BlackLivesMatter: How a Hashtag Maintains a Movement: A Content Analysis of the Black Lives Matter Hashtag on Twitter – ProQuest. Www.proquest.com. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2307477155?pq-origsite=primo
Ince, J., Rojas, F., & Davis, C. A. (2017). The social media response to Black Lives Matter: how Twitter users interact with Black Lives Matter through hashtag use. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 40(11), 1814–1830. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1334931
Niraj, C. (2016, August). Preview unavailable – ProQuest. Www.proquest.com. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1813053815?pq-origsite=primo
Perez, S. (2018, month and day). Twitter’s doubling of character count from 140 to 280 had little impact on length of tweets. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/30/twitters-doubling-of-character-count-from-140-to-280-had-little-impact-on-length-of-tweets/.
The New York Times. (2020). How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody | Visual Investigations. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vksEJR9EPQ8
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Vang, M., & Myers, K. (2021). In the Wake of George Floyd: Hmong Americans’ Refusal to Be a U.S. Ally. Amerasia Journal, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00447471.2021.1974781
Hi Michael,
I really enjoyed your article.
In your article, you talk about how social media such as Twitter can lead to social change—combining the topic of black identity and racism with social media. Very interesting topic.
The advent of social media has greatly increased people’s interest in politics and society. Before the advent of social media, I was not even in the habit of following the news. Thanks to the spread of social media, we can receive new information and discuss it anytime and anywhere. This fierce and rapid mode of communication has led to a wide range of political and social concerns.
But it’s like the George Floyd incident you mentioned in your article. Because of the nature of social media, where everyone can speak, could some of the inappropriate statements spark a more violent conflict between blacks and whites?
Hi Sining
That is a very good point, I too was not in the habit of following news before social media made is such a quick and easy access.
To share my opinion on your question, I do believe given the nature of social media, inappropriate statements can spark a violent conflict between black people and white people however, I don’t think it would spark a ‘more violent’ conflict between them given this freedom. I believe the good that the freedom of social media allows, gives minorities a stronger voice to share equality, outweighing the concept of more violence. With the recent up rise in cancel culture in recent years, it appears any online public display of inappropriate statements, specifically directed at minorities, will get you cancelled.
Hi Michael, thanks for an insightful paper. I am keen to hear your thoughts on something closer to home. Given the environment with regard to the #BLM movement in the US mimics that of what we have in Australia with Indigenous deaths in custody, why do you think we have not seen a movement to the same extent here in Australia? Do Australians view the use of Twitter differently with regards to these issues?
Hi Antony,
Well I have a couple of thoughts about this, it may come down to the national level of broadcast, people in Australia are not as aware of Indigenous deaths in police custody or the abuse within the systems, especially within relation to the Aboriginal Juvenile System. And while they may not be as aware, one could say with America, when it comes to socialism, there is more progression within politics, social learning and the left learning system. I also believe there is a suppression of settling, invasion and the stolen generation as I for one went to private school and barely learnt about Aboriginal culture and history (going back 5 years ago when I graduated). I only learnt about how recent this was and the extreme events that happened within the last couple of years at Curtin University. I would need to do more research into this but I am curious if Aboriginal history and recognition is getting more taught in the Australian curriculum and if so, will this trickle down to generations to create further movements and social changes for Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia?
Then from personal experience, when I go to work in the city, there are Indigenous people getting arrested at least once a week for inappropriate behaviour. For someone taking Aboriginal culture units at Curtin to further my knowledge in their beautiful culture, it is upsetting to see these displays almost everyday when I go to work. Now if everyday people just see this without any understanding and acknowledgement of Aboriginal history and the trauma, they might not see the reason to defend the mistreatment of people. It is a very controversial topic and my thoughts and opinions are very early into my Aboriginal culture studies but I am hoping to further my understanding in these topics as I progress my studies.
It’s an interesting thought Michael – that to have a conscience you must first know of the problem. I actually think there may be a whole other paper in that thought!! Id love to hear more as you progress your studies. Your comment “everyday people just see this without any understanding and acknowledgement of Aboriginal history and the trauma, they might not see the reason to defend the mistreatment of people.” also struck a chord with me. I would argue that the African American’s could have been judged in the same way and yet social change seems to be more apparent in the US. In my opinion we have alot to learn about the mobilisation of change agents in a community.
I agree with your argument that African Americans could have been judged in the same way, especially with America having such a lot of history behind it. I think on a positive note, it is really great to see more papers and more people speak up about the history and trauma Aboriginal people went through as time goes on. I think as a community, we are going in the right direction in learning and understanding these impacts and I think that is a start to making a large-scale difference. If you would like to keep in touch on this topic (as it is something I will progressively learn more about) please feel free to email me anytime at 19162229@student.curtin.edu.au.
Well done. It was a very important time, I think, for democracy as a whole. There is a perception in America (I’m American), that the nation is a meritocracy – that everyone gets what they deserve. So, when things go wrong, there is a perception that the mistreated ‘earned’ that mistreatment. I think a lot of African-Americans looked at the multiracial response and outrage, and saw through the meritocracy argument, realising that no one could possibly ‘deserve’ that.
Well written. Well done.
I completely agree. It is definitely an interesting topic that I want to learn and discover more about
Thank you.
Well done. It was a very important time, I think, for democracy as a whole. There is a perception in America (I’m American), that the nation is a meritocracy – that everyone gets what they deserve. So, when things go wrong, there is a perception that the mistreated ‘earned’ that mistreatment. I think a lot of African-Americans looked at the multiracial response and outrage, and saw through the meritocracy argument, realising that no one could possibly ‘deserve’ that.
Well written. Well done.
Hi Michael,
I think your paper was well written and very insightful. You discuss the issue and the outcome of this tragic event that took place. I believe you could have referred to other protests or issues that occur worldwide a bit more – especially when it relates to Black Deaths in Custody here in Australia or even other racial issues that occur in America. You display a great understanding of how powerful online networks are and the use of hashtags being utilised in a social movement. Overall, I think your conference paper demonstrates an understanding of not only the Black Lives Matter movement but also how social media has changed the way these movements happen and spread awareness. I did my conference paper on very similar topics. Well done.
Alani
Thanks Alani
Yes I could of included other issues such as the indigenous deaths in police custody in Australia, I am currently learning about Indigenous culture so I am looking forward to constructing a more academic opinion and study on those topics going forward. I read your paper and was very impressed by it.
Michael
Hi Micheal,
I found your paper to be very insightful as well both persuasive and moving so great job! You discuss a very real topic surrounding racial injustice specifically within the United States. I agree with what you wrote about and am on the same page as you when it comes to my views surrounding the hashtags that were created to belittle and take attention away from the #blacklives matter one.
As mentioned in previous comments it would be really interesting to hear your views surrounding similar movements within Australia or even other parts of the world.
Great job again!
Hi Kyle
Thanks for the kind words
It is definitely an interesting time regarding these movements and social media. In regards to my views on similar movements within Australia (specifically lack of movement regarding Aboriginal mistreatment, deaths..). This is my response to one of the previous commenters that you might find interesting.
Well I have a couple of thoughts about this, it may come down to the national level of broadcast, people in Australia are not as aware of Indigenous deaths in police custody or the abuse within the systems, especially within relation to the Aboriginal Juvenile System. And while they may not be as aware, one could say with America, when it comes to socialism, there is more progression within politics, social learning and the left learning system. I also believe there is a suppression of settling, invasion and the stolen generation as I for one went to private school and barely learnt about Aboriginal culture and history (going back 5 years ago when I graduated). I only learnt about how recent this was and the extreme events that happened within the last couple of years at Curtin University. I would need to do more research into this but I am curious if Aboriginal history and recognition is getting more taught in the Australian curriculum and if so, will this trickle down to generations to create further movements and social changes for Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia?
Then from personal experience, when I go to work in the city, there are Indigenous people getting arrested at least once a week for inappropriate behaviour. For someone taking Aboriginal culture units at Curtin to further my knowledge in their beautiful culture, it is upsetting to see these displays almost everyday when I go to work. Now if everyday people just see this without any understanding and acknowledgement of Aboriginal history and the trauma, they might not see the reason to defend the mistreatment of people. It is a very controversial topic and my thoughts and opinions are very early into my Aboriginal culture studies but I am hoping to further my understanding in these topics as I progress my studies.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for responding to my comment. These are very honest and valid points that you raise and I do agree with you. I definitely think there is less media attention on these issues in Australia than there is in the United States. I think a contributing factor to both this and the points you make is probably that African-Americans make up 14.6% of the United States population whereas Indigenous Australians make up only 3.3% of Australia’s population, however, this is no excuse.
There definitely is a lack of education about the history of Australia and the First Nations people in the school system, hopefully, this is something that changes very soon. I think a big issue lies with the lack of representation in the media of Aboriginal Australians. As you point out America is further ahead than Australia when it comes to political and social progression, however, there has definitely been a collective movement getting larger and raising awareness and bringing attention to these issues in Australia which is really awesome to see!
– Kyla
Hi Kyla, I couldn’t agree more with the points you made. The small percentage of Indigenous Australians seems to suggest the whole ‘sweeping it under the rug’ when it comes to historical issues with Australia and Indigenous people. I will definitely need to do more research before I can formulate a proper opinion on this.
Hopefully as a country, we can move towards a more progressive life.
Michael
Hey,
I enjoyed reading your paper about BLM using social media as its also what I wrote about.
Seeing the positives impact the internet can have on bringing communities together and spreading hashtags worldwide to bring attention to necessary issues. Showing how powerful and important the Internet and social networks are with helping create awareness for these big issues. I think nowadays especially in the George Floyd case for example without these technology, phones and apps we probably wouldn’t know the real story of what happened, but the ability of people being able to upload/post/livestream and share these injustices and be able to help raise awareness for these issues is so beneficial for these social movements. Great paper.
Hi Molly
Thanks for the comment. I agree, it is an interesting time with the quick use of technology. Unfortunately as well, it is used to quickly spread so much information but I am sure there are whole other papers on that.
Enjoy the rest of the conference
Hi Michael,
I think this is a very important discussion on how important social media is to society and one that often gets ignored. It is really amazing how the world can come together to seek justice for everyone and hold important figures accountable, but I think it would be interesting to see how protests on social media can take away from the real issues as they often fade over time.
Hi Sean
yes I can see your point. Especially with the slacktivism that also happens with it. It is one of those things where it will never be perfect in my opinion and that it is just more important to focus on the positives of it.
Enjoy the rest of the conference.
Hi Michael, I wanted to read your paper as the Black Lives Matter movement is one that I feel is very important, and your paper did not disappoint. I think your discussion of not only the response locally but internationally across social media platforms, through shared posts and hashtags, was a very nice way to give your paper scope. I also appreciated the sub-headings as I found they made your paper easy to follow. I found the history of where the Black Lives Matter movement came from and how the hashtag originated very interesting and laid a nice foundation for you to move into talking about how the hashtag has grown over time and become more engaged with on platforms such as Twitter. One thing I would’ve really liked to see in this paper is possibly the way that the online movement impacted the physical movement (e.g. protest attendance etc.) or the role it played in the arrest and charging of Derrick Chauvin. Do you think social media, and the #BLM movement on twitter, made an impact into that final ruling?
Hi Luke
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it.
In regards to your questions, I do believe social media and #BLM made a massive impact on the final ruling. It appears that sometimes, situations like these can go unpunished which is also being presented in modern media nowadays. A common look on this that most of my friends were introduced to was the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode (season 4, episode 16) titled ‘Moo Moo’ where the police sergeant (black man) was racially discriminated by another police officer while he was off duty. The racist police officer ended up not getting punished.
I do think, without social media and the public eye, these situations such as George Floyd is very dismissible and if it wasn’t for people streaming and recording, I think would of gone unpunished.
Thanks for this interesting paper, Michael. Twitter tends to get a bad rap these days, but I actually felt more positive about it as you described it as a vehicle for social justice and change. Twitter has been highly politicised, so it will be interesting to see how Elon Musk changes the platform and if it becomes more of a tool for scientific empowerment and away from the negative tone of the politicians and media that love it.
Hi Emma, yes it will be a very interesting time when Elon Musk starts rolling out changes. I wonder if it will start another ‘Doge coin’ craze.
Hi Michael,
Interesting paper, it was a great read and was very persuasive.
The way that society has pushed change through social media is a testament of human nature and bringing people together through online activity. Do you think that the use of hashtags has prevented governments to control the spread of information through mainstream media?
Thanks,
Jordan
Hi Jordan
Thanks for the kind words.
That questions really made me have a hard think… I think it has definitely impacted the way the government would like the spread of information to go about on social media. But I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing. For example, there is a lot of misinformation going around online about covid-19 and the vaccines, I am sure the government would like to control that spread of misinformation but can’t because the online identities have the power on social media now. I guess it falls down to democracy and the people, we should (and can) be able to choose what information we share and read. As long as its not bad then I don’t see the issue.
Hi Michael,
Really interesting paper as someone who participated in the BLM movement in Perth, social media made it very hard to see and understand what was original and what was opinionated. this is not just in the BLM movement it is everywhere on social media is it so hard to find facts and the original version of the story. In relation to racial tension all around the world at the moment, do you think social media is bridging the gap or making it worse
Hi Matthew
That is great that you went to that, I remember when it was being advertised around the time.
I agree, as much factual information there is I do believe there is so much misinformation as well…
To answer your question, I think it is bridging the gap in regards to the racial tension. We are definitely progressing in the right direction, especially with everyday people and minorities having more power. In a humorous yet important way was the advertisement of the NDL (Niko Defence League). A youtube creator (who was black) went to the EDL (English Defence League) who are known to be a racist group, making protests about keeping England pure (and white), basically made fun of them and started his own movement, the NDL. This made people around the world start posting short videos of them with a NFL sign in support of the movement. Situations like this, even though they are made with a fun intent, also encourages people around the world to know right from wrong. If you want to see more about the NDL, you can check out the latest video where he interviewed the grand wizard of the KKK (and basically made fun of him and his racist ways). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umNjlp2LObM&t=523s&ab_channel=NikoOmilana
Hi Michael, Very interesting paper and while i was reading it i found myself in it because as a Black man myself i have seen the evolution of the BLM movement, and it makes me happy to see that things are changing, maybe it is a slow change but it is changing, even here in Mauritius we have a movement that is called (BLD) (B## LI DEHORS) which was used to fight against the government, with all the things that is happening in Mauritius.
Thank you for the read and hope that you are doing well.
That is interesting, I will need to find out more about BLD and the situations happening in Mauritius as I am unaware what is happening. I would be interested to hear more of your thoughts about what is happening in Mauritius and the government if you are happy to share.
Much thanks and I hope you are safe.
Michael