60 Seconds: How TikTok Redefined Activism.

Illustration by @akilisart

At their core, Twitter and other forms of social media are microblogging sites that provide a personal insight into the perspective of specific individuals and their lived experiences. The empowerment of these people provides a diary for which their reaction to current affairs and injustice can be amplified by intra-community sharing and content creation. This essentially means the same force of nature that allowed the ‘Don’t Rush challenge’ started by Black British young people to reach as far as Barack Obama’s playlist is the same force enabling marginalised communities to speak their truth louder than ever. These voices have been critical to unapologetic Black, socialist, and youth organising which has empowered activists to conquer popular discourse like never before. However, without recourse to the great powers that traditional media and politicians have, the imbalance will be perpetuated. It is one thing to capitalise on trends and virality to champion a cause, but just as Breonna Taylor’s case and its unjust conclusion has demonstrated, this can only go so far. The disconnect between the online landscape and the often regressive values held by communities around the world has been highlighted by the 2016 election of Donald Trump, the vote for Brexit, and Jeremy Corbyn’s loss in 2019.

The great drawback of this innovation in activism is how the democratisation and virality of global current affairs—such as the explosion in Lebanon covered wildly by social and mainstream media, LGBTQIA+ rights activists in Poland or #ENDSARS protests in Nigeria—have become ‘trendy’. Death has become content. The memeification of important causes has the potential to diminish their credibility and regularly delivers trauma-porn to our blue screens. I am tired of seeing Black Death, in HD, CCTV or bodycam footage delivered in amusing or sensationalist formats. Performative declarations of solidarity accompanied by actions such as hashtagging and the signing of irrelevant petitions can damage the momentum of sustainable campaigns. White liberal ‘allies’ who speak up through retweets and black Instagram squares or BLM links in their bios are likely to take up the space of genuine activists who not only post Angela Davis quotes but live her ethos.

The online commodification of revolutionary ideals, language, and imagery are common and deadly for modern social movements. On TikTok and other social media, this usually looks like brands, celebrities and political parties positioning themselves as radical, anti-capitalist, ‘Pro-Black’ or abolitionist in their dialogue, whilst often moderate or even actively harmful in their actions. Performativity within activism is deadly. When Nike is claiming to side with Colin Kaepernick’s battle against police brutality or when Ben and Jerry’s critiques the US military-industrial complex, it often distracts from the harm these very same companies do. It deflects attention away from the system that has allowed them to exist and profit on such a huge scale. More still, social media is still a sucker for a brilliant visual or profound(ly funny) piece of written content that allows style to supersede substance. We can only truly resolve issues with the diligence and vigilance of…

This is an excerpt from our latest printed edition III:TRANSCEND which is available to purchase here from our BigCartel store.