The Power of Social Media Advocacy Amy Sekhar, PhD
Access Note Make yourself comfortable. Move about the room as you need. Take breaks as needed. Take care of your sensory needs; stim away!
Overview Activism & m & Social Media Selecting the Appropriate Platform Creating Accessible Posts Hashtags and How to Use Them Disability Twitter INSILC Social Media Campaign
Disability Advocacy & Social Media
Social Media by the Numbers 69% of Americans think is important in raising awareness of important issues with elected officials (Pew) 64% of Americans feel that social media helps give a voice to underrepresented groups (Pew) More than 50% of American social media users say they have used their accounts for advocacy or activism (George Washing U – GSPM Blog)
Is social media activism really activism?
YES! “[…] for millions of people with disabilities, they are not able to be the “boots on the ground” in a movement — and their work proves that there isn’t just one way to be an activist.” (HelloGiggles) “Through online communities founded on social media, activists with disabilities have created platforms for their causes and are resisting injustice.” (HelloGiggles)
Social Media is a Powerful Tool Creates a space Builds to share, teach, community; and learn; One way to Can decrease “show up” when isolation for physically people with showing up is limited access; not possible.
Selecting the Appropriate Platform
Instagram Visually “Followers can actually see the driven causes that are being championed (and the impact they are making).” (The Gramlist)
Instagram Example: Annie Segarra (annieelainey) • Image Description: Annie sits in her wheelchair wearing a rainbow skirt in front of a door with a step leading up to it. Text on the door reads, "Make pride accessible"
Facebook Share & connect “It's clear that Facebook played with your a big role in personal mobilizing people to network & participate in the global Women's communities; March” (CNN) Organize events
Facebook Example: Women’s March Disability Caucus • Image Description: A screenshot of a Women's March Disability Caucus event link. The headline reads "Our Lives Are On the Line". The event is for a Lobby/Phone Banking for Medicaid.
Twitter “Newsy”; Viral Twitter fast-paced; campaigns can successfully influence real time; elected officials & community; affect policy by public; viral demonstrating power massive support for an issue.
Twitter: Dakota Access Pipeline • #NODAPL arose out of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests • Millions of Tweets in 2016 used hashtag • Movement was successful in stopping pipeline progress until 2017 (Trump executive order) Image Description: A screenshot of a Tweet with the text: "Chief Arvol Looking Horse and riders coming into camp #NoDAPL. There are several indigenous horseback riders carrying flags.
Creating Accessible Posts
What makes an accessible post?
Considerations for accessible social media posts (handout) Content Image Captions Warnings Descriptions For Videos (CW) Tone Flashing #CamelCase indicators Image Hashtags (sarcasm) Warnings Avoid Minimize Ableist GIFs/Emojis Language
Activity (10 mins) Facebook Login to a social media Instagram account: Twitter Quickly select a post that interests you (preferably with an image). Is this post accessible to you? To a wide variety of disabilities? Why or why not? What would you change or add?
Hashtags and How to Use Them
What is a hashtag, anyway? Began on Twitter in Links to a group of 2007 social media posts about the same topic
Activity (10 mins) Facebook Login to a social media account: Instagram Twitter In the search bar, search for “disability.” Next, search for “crip the vote.” In the search bar, search for #Disability. Next, search for #CripTheVote. Try clicking on the hashtag in a post. What did your search return in Facebook? Instagram? Twitter? What’s the difference with and without a hashtag? Which platforms are more effective with hashtags?
Facebook Instagram Twitter How hashtags • See only posts • Can follow • Very searchable from friends or hashtags and “clickable” work on public posts • Suggests posts • Cannot follow a • Can be used to that use same hashtag different “brand” posts or hashtag as other • Can see trending communicate posts you’ve hashtags Join platforms engagement in a looked at current topic conversations • Can signify mood or humor
Popular Disability Hashtags #SuckItAbleism #CripTheVote #DisabilityTwitter #SayTheWord #DisabilityTooWhite #Disability #Medicaid #AccessIsLove
Disability Twitter
Activity (10 mins) Login to Twitter In the search bar, search for #DisabilityTwitter. Next, try one of the following hashtags: #ActuallyAutistic, #EDS, #Spoonie What do you notice about the results?
Disability Twitter is not a place: It’s a community Disability Twitter is a community for: • Advocacy/Activism • Sharing experiences • Learning/Educating • Building relationships across distance (especially for people with rare conditions) • Engaging with policymakers (on all issues, not just disability issues) • Intersectional spaces • Multiple hashtags (e.g. #Disability #RepresentationMatters #BlackDisabledLivesMatter #DisabilityTooWhite
INSILC Social Media Campaign
#NothingWithoutUs Disability perspectives belong in When you share stories or every aspect of policy and comment on a post on an issue decision-making. that impacts disability, use: #Disability #NothingWithoutUs
Let’s practice! (Activity Handout)
Questions?
Thank you! Amy Sekhar, PhD Director of Community Education & Training INSILC asekhar@insilc.org
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