A look at the effect of social media on social action, with a focus on Ferguson and Eric Garner.

1. PARTICIPATORY CULTURE & RACE
RELATIONS IN THE US
How the open culture of the internet sparked mass reflection and outrage

2. SOCIAL MEDIA AS ACTIVISM
• There is a great deal of argument on the internet and beyond about the true effectiveness
of sharing progressive materials via sites like Facebook and Twitter
• Pro-Social Media Activism:
• Raises awareness
• Spreads ideas to many different networks incredibly quickly
• Great organizational tool
• Anti-Social Media Activism:
• No real action
• Gives feeling of speaking out when in reality, it has no effect
• Detracts from people really getting involved

3. THE ARAB SPRING
• The best example of successful social media activism
• Started in 2010
• Series of revolutions throughout the Arab World
• Spurred on by social media, especially Twitter
• #Jan25 – a way to organize meetings and demonstrations quickly and with
immense reach
• Resulted in radical regime changes in many African countries

4. SOCIAL MEDIA AND ADVOCACY IN THE US
• Pew Research statistics about American social media usage:
• 73% adults use social networks
• 90% ages 18-29
• 78% ages 30-49
• 65% ages 50-64
• 46% ages 65+
• 8% people have received some “call to action” via social networking
• 18% via email
• 12% via print letter
• 12% via phone call

5. SOCIAL MEDIA AND ADVOCACY IN THE US
• Pew Research statistics about American social media usage:
• 50% adults never discuss politics or public affairs online
• 33% believe social networks are important discussion forums for politics
• 32% believe social networks are important for recruiting people for a cause
• Pew claims people increasingly live in “ideological silos”
• From 1994 to 2014, the median responses from liberals and conservatives fell
drastically further away when given a 10-item survey
• Both conservatives and liberals said their friends were politically like-minded
• Also valued living with people with similar political stances

6. STATEN ISLAND, NY
• In July 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black man, was being arrested for selling loose
cigarettes two months prior
• White policeman Daniel Pantaleo applied a chokehold and brought him down to the
ground
• He repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” and then died in the hold
• It was all caught on video and posted to YouTube

7. FERGUSON, MO
• In August 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was fatally shot multiple
times by a white policeman, Darren Wilson
• Sparked widespread unrest on social media
• Accounts of what actually happened differed
• Some witnesses claimed Brown was brutally murdered
• Other sources said Brown assaulted officer Wilson

8. JUDICIAL RESPONSES & SOCIAL MEDIA
• On November 24, it was announced that Darren Wilson would not be prosecuted
• DA McCulloch said in his press conference that he blamed the media for people’s
perception of a racist attack or an instance of police brutality
• Protests broke out across the country
• #Ferguson, #MikeBrown, and #BlackLivesMatter became popular hashtags that
organized Ferguson-related information like instances of police brutality and meeting
places for protesting
• Live feeds of community unrest were online for people to watch if they weren’t in big
cities
• Many were inspired to drive to their nearest city and join

9. JUDICIAL RESPONSES & SOCIAL MEDIA
• On December 3, it was announced that Daniel Pantaleo would not be prosecuted
• First, Twitter went ablaze
• Over 69,000 tweets were sent per hour with the hashtag #EricGarner and 16,000 per
hour with #ICantBreathe after the decision
• That translated into real action
• Protestors at the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony were chanting “Shut it
down” in reference to the Twitter hashtag #ShutItDown alongside other chants
• More protests in NYC clogged the West Side Highway, Times Square, Grand Central
Terminal, and other popular places
• Cities around the country joined in

10. AFTERMATH
• Protests are still happening across the country
• #ICantBreathe is still highly used
• Live streams of protests are still available
• The country is noticing
• A petition on We The People to require that police officers wear body cameras
received enough signatures to require an official response from the White House
• Major outlets like the Wall Street Journal and Time are running constant coverage on
the riots
• YouTube videos and articles are being shared across networks of social media and
people are joining the conversation