Hello, today we’re going to talk about cyberactivism.

This type of activism uses digital media as a tool for campaigning. Videos,

webpages, publications, hashtags, petitions, use of social websites, and even

hacking, are all means that activists are now using to make a change.

Cyberactivism is also known as:

Internet activism;

Online activism

Digital activism;

Online organizing;

Electronic advocacy;

E-campaigning;

E-activism.

The purpose behind digital activism is to enable faster communication by citizen

movements and the delivery of local information to a large audience. Many

human rights defenders have used their social media communication networks

to report, document, write about or call attention to human rights issues that are

often ignored by traditional media outlets or censored by the authorities. The use

of the Internet plays an important role in exposing injustice, disseminating

information that is otherwise difficult to access or blocked, or to mobilize

audiences to take action around key issues. In the information age, bloggers and

other cyberactivists have carved out new space in the human rights movement,

while technology has enabled many who were previously marginalized to have a

platform for their voices.

Depending on the cause or need of the e-activist, cyberactivism can be used for

various purposes, such as awareness creation, gathering and organizing followers

and initiating reactions. For example, e-activists use e-petitions digitally signed by

a number of followers before they are sent to government and legislative

authorities.

Digital activism has proved to be a powerful means of grassroots political

mobilization and provides new ways to engage protesters. Additionally, online

actions can be important in countries where public spaces are highly regulated or
are under military control. In such cases, online actions are a better option than

possibly physically dangerous “live” actions. Online protest also can be used

against transnational institutions.

Advantages e Disadvantages.

Black Lives Matter is an activist movement which began as a hashtag

(#BlackLivesMatter) after George Zimmermann was acquitted in the shooting of

Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager killed in Florida in July

2013. The movement became more widely known and popularized after two

high-profile deaths in 2014 of unarmed African-American men. Neither of the

police officers involved in their deaths were indicted.

The online and offline spheres of #BLM are intertwined with protest being a

necessary part. Social movements operate to bring about change, equality and

justice usually through collective action. The trending worldwide of hashtag

movements reflect interest in matters of racial injustice, sexual harassment and

misogyny with people’s involvement in such political matters challenging the

perceived apathy.

What brings us to another hastag, #MeToo.

The phrase #MeToo gained global attention when American actress, Alyssa

Milano used it as a Twitter hashtag in response to allegations of sexual

harassment by movie director Harvey Weinstein in 2017. Milano encouraged

Twitter users to use #MeToo to demonstrate the global prevalence of sexual

harassment. Social media sites, such as Twitter, provide a platform for celebrities

to directly share their political and social stances, as opposed to only their

photographs usually depicted in the media. Furthermore, their social media

accounts enable them to personally engage with their fans. Thus, celebrity

involvement in the #MeToo movement has humanized their sometimes obscure

standing on social issues.

Now we are going to show you a video about cyberactivism.

To conclude we want to make you reflect about this questions:

Can activism ever be harmful? If so, can it still even be labelled as "activism", even

if the people participating are under the impression that they are being helpful?
Is lasting change even possible in the post-internet era? Is activism a one-anddone

news headline that rocks the world for a week or two at most before going

away?