Why social media is so powerful for political activism
Channel: The Conversation
Date: 2020-06-30

The lower-than-expected attendance at President Trump’s rally in Tulsa on June 20 was attributed, at least in part, to an online army of K-pop fans who used the social network TikTok to organize and reserve tickets for the rally as a means of pranking the campaign.

Similarly, the historically unprecedented scale of the George Floyd protests can be attributed in part to social media. By some estimates 25 million Americans participated at protests.

Social media has proven itself as a tool for political activism, from online boycotts to offline gatherings. It also has implications for how political campaigns operate. Social media can aid campaigns with voter targeting efforts, but it can also make the electoral process vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation, including from foreign actors.

Anjana Susarla, associate professor of information systems at Michigan State university explains what makes social media a powerful tool for activism.

This video is based on an article for The Conversation YS.

The full article is available to read at: https://theconversation.com/tiktok-teens-and-the-trump-campaign-how-social-media-amplifies-political-activism-and-threatens-election-integrity-141266