PDF: The Power of Social Networking Platforms and Hashtags – During the #FreeBritney Movement

Abstract:

This paper will examine how social networking platforms and hashtags help like-minded individuals to connect and opt for social change. Using the #FreeBritney movement, the paper will discuss how hashtags and social networking platforms like Twitter/X can work successfully as tools for social change. Sociological and political theoretical contexts have been used and studied to form the basis of this paper’s perspective. Tracking the #FreeBritney movement using X’s advanced search engine, I analysed tweets/posts that correlated to Billboard magazine’s detailed timeline of Britney Spears’ conservatorship and used the hashtag #FreeBritney. Through analysing tweets/posts with #FreeBritney by @BritneyHiatus, @Taci00x, and @BritneyTheStan, I discovered how the Britney Army became citizen journalists and collectively advocated for the end of Britney’s conservatorship. My findings concluded that the hashtag and Twitter/X helped the Britney Army connect, share their concerns, and spread awareness collectively about Britney’s situation in the conservatorship.

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On 23 November 2021, fans of pop star Britney Spears were overjoyed when it was announced that the thirteen-year conservatorship battle that the singer had been quietly suffering in ended. Following this news and overcome with emotion and the affective bond they had for Britney, fans known collectively as the Britney Army took to the social networking platform X, then Twitter to spread the news that the #FreeBritney movement they had started three years earlier had worked. In 2008, Britney was placed under the care of her father, Jamie Spears, in a conservatorship after suffering a mental breakdown. Despite her illness, she continued to perform, which some Britney Army members found concerning but did not address. That was until April 2019, when they noticed an Instagram post on Britney’s Instagram notifying her followers that she was taking some ‘me time’ and ‘voluntarily’ checked herself into a mental facility. Driven by their concerns about whether or not this was Britney’s choice, the Britney Army became citizen journalists and took to Twitter/X. To actively collaborate and participate in reporting and broadcasting the facts about Britney’s conservatorship case, hoping to sway public opinion and release her from her father’s control. The #FreeBritney movement on Twitter/X allowed Britney Army members to become citizen journalists and advocate collectively to end Britney Spears’ conservatorship by sharing their affective concerns, spreading collective awareness, and organising their persuasive narrative.

 

Through the #FreeBritney movement on Twitter/X, individuals of the Britney Army shared their affective concerns about Britney’s well-being, which led to connective action. (Hopkins, 2022; Smith et al., 2023) In April 2019, individual members of the Britney Army began using Twitter/X and the hashtag #FreeBritney to voice their concerns about Britney voluntarily checking herself into the mental facility. However, their fears were not yet strengthened until an anonymous source close to the conservatorship case came forward on a podcast with news that Britney was placed into the mental facility against her will (Hopkins, 2022; Smith et al., 2023). Upon hearing this news on the podcast and driven by their emotional investment and affective bond for the pop star, individual members of the Britney Army urgently took to Twitter/X in the hopes of releasing Britney from her conservatorship (Hinck, 2020; Papacharissi, 2015; Papacharissi & Trevey, 2018; Reddick, 2022). Although at first their concerns came across as conspiracy theories due to the mainstream media manipulating people’s perceptions, Britney Army members felt it was their duty to inform others on the platform about what they felt was going on. Individual Britney Army members informed others by writing short blog posts using the microblogging platform’s networked infrastructure and technical affordances such as hashtags (Ojala & Ripatti-Torniainen, 2023; Smith et al., 2023).

 

@BritneyHiatus was one of many fans who took to Twitter to inform people about the #FreeBritney movement and “how Britney Spears went from being the most photographed person in the world to being locked away in a mental health facility against her will” and used the hashtag #FreeBritney in their tweet/post (BritneyHiatus, 2019) (see figure 1). (Delanty, 2018; Hinck, 2020; Ojala & Ripatti-Torniainen, 2023; Papacharissi, 2015; Papacharissi & Trevey, 2018) Using #FreeBritney in their post, @BritneyHiatus connected with other fans on Twitter/X who shared the same sentiments about Britney and the conservatorship due to their affective ties for her. @BritneyHiatus connected with other like-minded fans of Britney’s on the platform because hashtags and Twitter/X are information and communication technologies that open up new digital spaces. Where like-minded individuals can communicate and bond over their shared concerns and interests about a specific topic, therefore creating a sense of belonging in a virtual community (Delanty, 2018; Hinck, 2020; Ojala & Ripatti-Torniainen, 2023; Papacharissi, 2015; Papacharissi & Trevey, 2018). According to Smith, et al. (2023), the same month that @BritneyHiatus took to Twitter/X to voice her concern about Britney’s welfare in the conservatorship #FreeBritney was shared a further 88,303 times (Smith, et al. 2023). Confirming that many fans were conversing in a crowd-like behaviour around the common goal of wanting to see Britney be freed from the conservatorship (Ojala & Ripatti-Torniainen, 2023; Smith, et al., 2023). Participating in sharing their concerns over  Britney strengthened the #FreeBritney movement and built the formation the Britney Army needed to spread their collective action.

 

Figure 1.

Screenshot of @BritneyHiatus’ tweet/post from April, 2019

 

@Taci00x took to the platform to inform others about how much control the conservatorship had over Britney. The tweet/post attained 121 comments, 10,000 likes and 5,700 reshares/retweets. @Taci00x’s use of #FreeBritney helped raise awareness of the Britney Army’s concerns on the platform due to the engagement they received on their post. When a user engages with a tweet/post on the platform, the information spreads to their followers, making them aware of it (Hampton, 2016). A user’s followers become aware of the information through the user’s engagement with a post/tweet on the platform due to the speed at which information flows throughout the platform, transcending the limits of time and space (Dalenty, 2018; Hampton, 2016).

 

In cases like #FreeBritney, increased awareness and engagement can make information go viral and trend on Twitter/X. (boyd et al., 2010; Marwich and boyd, 2011; Reddick, 2022; Smith et al., 2023) Going viral and trending on Twitter/X increased the public knowledge of what was happening to Britney and the discussion surrounding the #FreeBritney movement. Conversations about the conservatorship and how Britney was being treated were escalated online and offline and even to those that were not directly involved in the conversations being had (boyd et al., 2010; Marwich and boyd, 2011; Reddick, 2022; Smith et al., 2023). The virality and impact of these conversations surrounding #FreeBritney that members of the Britney Army started on Twitter/X even reached the mainstream media and Britney herself. In September 2020, after hearing of the support from the Britney Army and how they spread information about how Britney was being treated in the conservatorship, Britney argued for her conservatorship case to go public and won (Mamo, 2021) (see figure 2).

 

Figure 2.

Screenshot of @BritneyHiatus’ tweet/post from September 2020 notifying the public that Britney’s conservatorship had gone public

 

Making the conservatorship go public meant that several of the case’s court papers were open to the public. However, this did not stop the Britney Army from advocating and spreading awareness that Britney needed to be freed from her conservatorship. When the court documents leaked to the public on 3rd September 2020, @BritneyHiatus took to Twitter to spread some shocking news found in one of the court documents. They wrote, “Court documents reveal Britney Spears DOES NOT have a developmental disability as would usually be the case for probate conservatorships” (BritneyHiatus, 2020) (see figure 3). Utilising Twitter/X as a news source and the platform’s digital affordances allowed Britney Army members like @BritneyHiatus and @Taci00x to participate in citizen journalism (Alfonzo, 2021; Papacharissi, 2015; Papacharissi & Trevey, 2018; Reddick, 2022).

 

Figure 3.

Screenshot of @BritneyHiatus’ tweet/post from September 2020 notifying the public that Britney’s court documents state that she DOES NOT have a disability

 

When participating in citizen journalism and using the affordances of Twitter/X, the Britney Army gained viral attention and raised awareness about the issues surrounding #FreeBritney collectively. (Alfonzo, 2021; Papacharissi, 2015; Papacharissi & Trevey, 2018; Reddick, 2022) By gaining attention and raising awareness, the Britney Army persuaded the public’s perception of the #FreeBritney movement and got them to realise that the movement was more a human rights issue than just an issue about Britney Spears. The impact the Britney Army had on the public regarding the #FreeBritney movement, windows of opportunity opened up, and change began to occur (Alfonzo, 2021; Papacharissi, 2015; Papacharissi & Trevey, 2018; Reddick, 2022). For example, in June 2021, Britney made her first public appearance at the courthouse, and the world was able to find out how she was being treated in the conservatorship (Mamo, 2021). By using the hashtag, the information about how Britney was being treated in the conservatorship went viral, and the Britney Army was able to influence others with their collective awareness.

 

Adding #FreeBritney to their tweets/posts on Twitter/X, the Britney Army became trusted citizen journalists, as the hashtag helped organise their content into a structured journalistic narrative that played out in real time. As evidenced throughout this paper, Twitter/X and its affordances aided the Britney Army in providing them the ability to consistently spread their subversive narrative and share important information about the conservatorship during the #FreeBritney movement (Alfonzo, 2021; Smith, et al., 2023). Making it easier for the Britney Army to communicate their political messages because of the platform’s ‘always on’ nature which helped circulate the movement throughout the platform and broadened the support for Britney (Hinck, 2020; Papacharissi, 2015; Reddick, 2022). The immediate nature of the platform makes it a powerful tool during news-breaking events or events that are happening in real-time such as #FreeBritney and making it possible for people to become instant citizen journalists reporting on events as they happen from the ground (Alfonzo, 2021; Papacharissi, 2015; Reddick, 2022). It is because of Twitter’ s/X’s immediate nature that Britney Army members could live-tweet/post from outside the Los Angeles courthouse during the case court hearings, therefore breaking important news about the case as it happened and participating in the movement as citizen journalists.

 

For example, on 29 September 2021, when Britney’s attorney, Matthew Rosengart, held a press conference outside the courthouse and announced that Jamie Spears was no longer Britney’s conservator. Overcome with excitement and driven by the same emotional investment and affective bond they had for Britney when starting the #FreeBritney movement the Britney Army took to their Twitter accounts to announce the news. Such as @BritneyTheStan, who wrote, “Britney Spears’ attorney Mat Rosengart announces that her father has been suspended today #FreeBritney” (BritneyTheStan, 2021) (see figure 4). (Alfonzo, 2021; Papacharissi, 2015) By adding the hashtag to their tweet/post, @BritneyTheStan attached their commentary to the growing collaborative pool of information within the #FreeBritney movement on Twitter/X. Therefore, they helped create a well-organized narrative structure that reads as a corresponding story of the #FreeBritney movement as it played out in real time when the hashtag is searched on the platform. The well-organised structure and affective tone behind their collaborative storytelling made the Britney Army feel connected and seem like citizen journalists to others on the platform (Alfonzo, 2021; Papacharissi, 2015). Twitter/X and its affordances helped the Britney Army become trusted citizen journalists as they collectively advocated to end Britney’s conservatorship by reporting on the happenings of the case in real time.

 

Figure 4.

Screenshot of @BritneyTheStan’s tweet/post from September 2021 notifying the public that Britney’s father is no longer her conservator

 

Social networking platforms like Twitter/X and their affordances supply the foundation and tools to share, spread, and organise important information collectively. If it were not for Twitter/X and using the hashtag #FreeBritney on the platform, @BritneyHiatus, @Taci00x, @BritneyTheStan, and other members of the Britney Army would not have been able to become citizen journalists, find one another, and collectively advocate to end Britney’s conservatorship. Using Twitter/X and the hashtag #FreeBritney, the information reaches others on and off the platform, making them aware of what is happening through collective awareness. By making others aware of why Britney needed to be freed from her conservatorship the Britney Army was successfully able to convince them of their structured persuasive narrative. Therefore, the hashtag #FreeBritney and Twitter/X gave the Britney Army the power they needed to achieve their goal of releasing Britney from her conservatorship. Britney echoed this in her 2023 memoir The Women in Me when she thanked the Britney Army for all the work they did during the #FreeBritney movement because, without their help, she would not have won her freedom back.

 

References

Alfonzo, P. (2021). A Topology of Twitter Tactics: Tracing the Rhetorical Dimensions and Digital Labor of Networked Publics. Social Media + Society, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211025514

 

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@BritneyHiatus. (2019, April 22). #FreeBritney for Beginners: An in-depth explanation on how Britney Spears went from being the most photographed person in the world [Description]. X. https://twitter.com/BritneyHiatus/status/1119997970169180161

 

@BritneyHiatus. (2020, September 3). Court documents reveal Britney Spears does NOT have a developmental disability as would usually be the case for probate conservatorships [Description]. X. https://twitter.com/BritneyHiatus/status/1301189388445966336

 

@BritneyTheStan. (2021, September 30). Britney Spears’ attorney Mat Rosengart announces that her father has been suspended today #FreeBritney [Description]. X. https://twitter.com/BritneyTheStan/status/1443364614398517249

 

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Hampton, K. N. (2016). Persistent and Pervasive Community: New Communication Technologies and the Future of Community. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(1), 101-124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764215601714

 

Hinck, A. (2020). Fan-Based Social Movements: The Harry Potter Alliance and the Future of Online Activism . In N. Crick (Ed.) The Rhetoric of Social Movements: Networks, Power, and New Media (pp. 191-206). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429436291-14/fan-based-social-movements-ashley-hinck

 

Hopkins, S. (2022). Free Britney, b**ch!: femininity, fandom and #FreeBritney activism. Celebrity Studies, 13(3), 475–478. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2022.2037354

 

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Mamo, H. (2021, December 11). A Timeline of Britney Spears’ Conservatorship. Billboard.  https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/britney-spears-conservatorship-timeline-2-10139930/

 

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Ojala, M., & Ripatti-Torniainen, L. (2023). Where is the public of ‘networked publics’? A critical analysis of the theoretical limitations of online publics research. European Journal of Communication, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231210207

 

Papacharissi, Z. (2015). Affective Publics and Structures of Storytelling: Sentiment, Events and Mediality. Information, Communication & Society, 19(3), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1109697

 

Papacharissi, Z., & Trevey, M. T. (2018). Affective Publics and Windows of Opportunity: Social media and the potential for social change. In M. Graham (ed) The Routledge Companion to Media and Activism. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315475059/routledge-companion-media-activism-graham-meikle

 

Reddick, S. (2022). Points of Contact Between Activism, Populism, and Fandom on Social Media. Media and Communication, 10(4), 191-201. https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5738/2970

 

Smith, A. H., Gitomer, A. & Welles, B. F. (2023). You Want a Piece of Me: Britney Spears as a Case Study on the Prominence of Hegemonic Tales and Subversive Stories in Online Media. First Monday. https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/13314/11378

 

Vaidya, A. R. (2022, June 23). #FreeBritney: Strategies of Counternarratives and Self-Regulation in Digital Fan Activism [Video]. Console-ing Passions. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cp2022/program/pink/4/

 

List of Figures

Figure 1. Wilson, Jessica. 2024. “Screenshot of @BritneyHiatus’ tweet/post from April 2019”. Screenshot. Accessed from. @BritneyHiatus “#FreeBritney for Beginners: An in-depth explanation on how Britney Spears went from being the most photographed person in the world”. X post. https://twitter.com/BritneyHiatus/status/1119997970169180161

 

Figure 2. Wilson, Jessica. 2024. “Screenshot of @BritneyHiatus’ tweet/post from September 2020 notifying the public that Britney’s conservatorship had gone public”. Accessed from. @BritneyHiatus “In a new court filing, Britney Spears’ court-appointed attorney asks the judge to REJECT her father’s attempt to continue sealing…”. X post. https://twitter.com/BritneyHiatus

 

Figure 3. Wilson, Jessica. 2024. “Screenshot of @BritneyHiatus’ tweet/post from September 2020 notifying the public that Britney’s court documents state that she DOES NOT have a disability”. Accessed from. @BritneyHiatus “Court documents reveal Britney Spears does NOT have a developmental disability as would usually be the case for probate conservatorships”. X post. https://twitter.com/BritneyHiatus/status/1301189388445966336

 

Figure 4. Wilson, Jessica. 2024. “Screenshot of @BritneyTheStan’s tweet/post from September 2021 notifying the public that Britney’s father is no longer her conservator”. Accessed from @BritneyTheStan “Britney Spears’ attorney Mat Rosengart announces that her father has been suspended today #FreeBritney”. X post. https://twitter.com/BritneyTheStan/status/1443364614398517249

 

Figure 5. (Featured Image). Wilson, Jessica. 2024. Screenshot #FreeBritney. Accessed from @BritneyHiatus. X account. https://twitter.com/BritneyHiatus