An activist, a journalist, and a newspaper use social media for #BlackLivesMatter
In the days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., protests were organized by word of mouth and secret telephone chains. Speeches were broadcast on television and radio. In today’s Black Lives Matter movement, efforts are coordinated on Twitter and victories documented on Instagram. The mechanics of social justice movements have shifted dramatically in the past 50 years.
To better understand the current dynamics, I decided to examine the social media engagenment patterns of a prominent activist, a well-known journalist, and a legacy media organization. I compared the activities of each on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see what remains of the old and what is new.
The activist I chose to study is DeRay McKesson, who became involved with Black Lives Matter in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white Officer Darren Wilson. He is now champion of Campaign Zero, which aims to end police brutality against people of color.
The journalist I chose — Tanzina Vega — pioneered the race beat at the New York Times in 2013. She currently works for CNN Politics, where she continued to passionately cover issues of race and diversity.
The legacy media organization I chose to examine is The Baltimore Sun. As the main newspaper in a city that has a history of racial tensions and was rocked by riots after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, the Sun has closely covered the Black Lives Matter movement.
My examination indicates that Facebook is used as a platform for passive sharing. It is mainly meant to spread a message and reach many people, but not necessarily to mobilize them.
DeRay McKesson
In the case of DeRay McKesson, he uses his Facebook page to share articles on racial issues from a variety of mainstream media outlets. He posts at least four or five times a day from sources including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Mashable, Politico, the Huffington Post, and more. His following — 21,411 people — are thus exposed to new topics and points of view. They also tend to share the post on their own walls, which continues the dissemination of information to wider circles.
While DeRay does not comment on his posts or even add any personal voice to the posts themselves, his page seems to facilitate conversations among his followers. Most of his posts get 100–200 likes and 30–40 comments. The comments are generally supportive of DeRay, but occasionally conversations between commenters can become heated. DeRay stays out of the dialogue in these situations, only responding to direct questions rather than engaging in debate.
For example, on Jan. 20, McKesson posted an article from the St. Louis Post Dispatch read, “Missouri vote ID plan could be among most restrictive in the country.” One woman commented seeking to help: “My kids and I want to help people be able to vote. We are close to Missouri — does anyone know how we can help? Would we go beforehand — to help get the ID stuff they require, or voting day — to get to the voting stations, or both?”
But another man commented in support of the restrictions, writing, “Good! Maybe this will keep irresponsible, low iq people from voting.” While McKesson didn’t respond to this comment, another person did, asking the original commenter if it stopped them from voting. In this way, McKesson’s Facebook page simply acts as a platform for McKesson himself, while promoting dialogue among others.
Tanzina Vega
Tanzina Vega’s Facebook profile is private, and thus, could not be analyzed.
The Baltimore Sun
Like most mass media organizations, The Baltimore Sun actively posts on its Facebook page, but never engages people in heated discussion. It tries to play the role of a neutral media organization.
The Sun has a verified page with about 94,510 followers and posts about 30 times per day. It functions similarly to McKesson’s page in the sense that it facilitates discussion among others, but it is different because it posts articles on all topics, not just of a racial nature.
However, it is the articles about issues of diversity or discrimination that seem to get the most attention, highlighting the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. For instance, on a Jan. 21 post about a Texas couple’s apprehension about moving to Baltimore due to violence in the city, several people commented with racial overtones.
“Something tells me the hypothetical black men that you’re so scared of would be terrified to live in Lubbock, Texas. This country would be a much better place if we didn’t make the majority of our decisions based on fear,” one person wrote.
“Until the thugification of our city’s youth is dealt with factually and seriously, there will be no peace and no justice for us law abiding citizens,” another said.
Despite this engagement, the Sun’s page still gets fewer comments and interaction than McKesson’s. This may be due to the fact that McKesson is an activist and draws people to his page who are more enthusiastic and likely to comment. It could also be that McKesson is an individual and people are drawn to his celebrity.
All three of my case study subjects appear to use Instagram as a promotional tool.
DeRay McKesson
McKesson uses Instagram as a vehicle to track and share his personal work as an activist, letting people know what city he is in and who he is meeting with. The majority of his 1,358 posts are selfies with a variety of people including Stephen Colbert, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. Many of McKesson’s 13.3k followers will comment on the photos, asking when he will visit their city.
McKesson’s photos get a wide range of likes, with selfies with lesser known people falling at the lower end of about 300 likes and selfies with prominent people, such as Stephen Colbert, racking up more than 1,000 likes.
McKesson occasionally uses Instagram to make a political statement related to Black Lives Matter, such as when he posted a political cartoon criticizing the police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Such posts appear to be very popular, with that cartoon receiving 1,307 likes.
Tanzina Vega
While Vega’s personal account is not open to the public, searching #tanzinavega on Instagram reveals that she also uses Instagram for promotional purposes. Vega is featured in professional photos, including a headshot with a caption about how she started a campaign to promote diversity in American newsrooms. The lack of comments on her photos show that this is not her main source of social media cache.
The Baltimore Sun
The Sun uses Instagram to cover events mostly, rather than telling complicated stories. This likely due to the simplistic nature of Instagram, which does not facilitate in-depth and nuanced storytelling. As such, the Sun barely seems to touch upon the Black Lives Matter movement on Instagram, instead focusing on sports photography throughout the majority of its 1,845 posts. The account’s 26.6k followers seem content to like posts but not comment or engage too actively.
Twitter is the source that the activist, journalist, and media organization all seem to use for active conversation, where they not only share media but also engage in dialogue with others.
DeRay McKesson
McKesson uses Twitter for a variety of purposes. Like on his Facebook page, he shares articles from various media organizations, including BuzzFeed and the Guardian. However, on Twitter, he often adds personal commentary, making it clear whether he agrees or disagrees with an article.
McKesson also covers events through the app, tweeting out poignant quotes from speakers and images of protesters holding signs. This seems to get the highest level of engagement with his 284k followers, who are generally very supportive.
For instance, on Dec. 27, 2014, he tweeted a picture of a protest sign that read, “They kill our daddies then make fun of us for being fatherless.” This tweet received 622 likes and was retweeted 608 times.
McKesson’s calls to action during the aftermath of Ferguson were also highly circulated. On Dec. 21, 2014, he tweeted, “I’ll apologize for shouting #blacklivesmatter when JD Salinger apologizes for Catcher in the Rye.” In addition to retweets and likes, this comment sparked a lengthy conversation on Twitter.
While McKesson does not engage with negative comments — similarly to his actions on Facebook — he does comment more often, answering questions people ask or furthering his point of view. For instance, when someone asked about the reference to Catcher in the Rye, McKesson explained that the book had been linked to murders. But when someone commented “You can shout #BlackLivesMatter all you want, @deray, but it would mean more if you acted like you believe it,” he didn’t reply.
The mix of quotes, personal commentary, and media articles makes Twitter McKesson’s most engaging social media outlet.
Tanzina Vega
Vega’s case is similar to McKesson’s. She is very active on Twitter, often live tweeting events, retweeting others, asking questions, answering inquiries, and generally conversing. She has 14k followers, who often engage with her about social justice issues.
The vast majority of her 9,347 tweets concern issues of diversity. Even when covering events not related to Black Lives Matter, she seems to have an eye for the race angle. For instance, in live tweeting during the Democratic debate, Vega pointed out how the candidates avoided saying Black Lives Matter, even when talking about social movements for racial equality. Her tweets garnered many retweets and replies, with people commenting on the phenomenon.
One interesting difference between her use of Twitter and McKesson’s is that Vega never uses #blacklivesmatter in her own words. She only uses it for an article or when referencing someone else’s words. This draws the line between activist and journalist, promoting a cause versus reporting on a movement.
While her tweets do not get liked as often as McKesson’s, they cause much more chatter. In my opinion, this is how it should be for a journalist. You should cause disruption and disagreement.
The Baltimore Sun
The Sun uses its Twitter account similarly to its Facebook account — providing a platform for others to converse while not engaging too much with many of the comments, which are often contentious on the topic of Black Lives Matter.
The account has 150k followers, in between that of McKesson and Vega. One of its most recent highly-discussed posts was a Jan. 3 tweet that read “Vast majority of Baltimore homicide victims in 2015 were young black men killed by gunfire.” It then linked to an article. The post triggered a harsh response from many, who said the Sun was slanting its coverage in favor of Black Lives Matter.
One commenter wrote, “And almost every one of these homicides had a black suspect. Please report this fact too.” Another said, “Almost no homicides there or other US Cities if you remove the black demographic equation. Then think of all the other crimes.”
While the Sun is more neutral in its posts than McKesson by far, it seems to receive more vitriol from commenters. This might be because the Sun is an institution and people feel more comfortable attacking it than an individual, such as McKesson. It might also be because people who disagree with the Black Lives Matter campaign won’t follow McKesson since he is a known activist.
One interesting observation I made was that people often tag McKesson in their comments and replies to the Sun’s tweets. For example, in a story tweeted out by the Sun on Dec. 22 about a woman who vandalized a Black Lives Matter sign to read All Lives Matter, a commenter wrote, “@baltimoresun @deray #nolivesmatter only #moneymatters.” In this way, McKesson and the Sun — activist and media — seem to be pulled together in the world of social media. Not only does McKesson tweet articles himself, users also tie him back to the Sun’s articles.
Thus, the Sun’s account prompts conversation without actively participating in it.