Don’t Underestimate the Power of Media — Especially in Its Current Form
Blog #16
A few days ago, I was painfully reminded of the power of media and the damage it can cause in the power of wrong hands when a Ghanaian politician exposed the face of an undercover journalist and where he lives on his television station and urged his viewers to attack him and beat him up. Ahmed, the journalist against whom the violence incited, was found dead a few days ago with 2 bullet wounds to his chest and one to his neck.
This isn’t the first time the media has been used by someone to incite violence against someone or a group. Lets not forget the role the radio station, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLMC) played in the 1993 Rwandan genocide by inciting the Hutus against the Tutsis.
Look at the powerful influence these media was able to give to those who wielded it. To wield this power many years ago cost a fortune — setting up a TV or radio station even today costs quite an amount of money — though they’re beginning to die out.
The power traditional media, which used to belong to the select few, is shifting to the “common” people.
A measure of influence has been allotted to everyone of us with the rise of social media and many of us aren’t fully awake to the power we’ve been given — which is literally at our fingertips. Others, on the other hand, have taken the measure they received, worked with it and increased it in signficant proportions to a level where they are now bestowed the title, Influencer.
Before the rise of social media, there were only celebrities. Now the big companies don’t only seek out celebrities in pushing out the awareness of their brands, they also go to the influencers on the various social media platforms- YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat etc — because they know that’s where the attention they’re seeking is.
“Power not used is power abused”
— Anonymous
Social media has given us power, power to share our truth, power to right the wrongs and injustice in our society, power to add our voice to many others and ask for justice for victims like Ahmed. Due to the exponential impact social media gave to their activism, we’ve witnessed how powerful personalities and potentates in industries have been brought to their knees by seemingly ordinary individuals through movements such as “Me Too” and “Black Lives Matter”.
The amazing thing is, it doesn’t cost much to tap into this power — it costs nothing to open a YouTube, Instagram or Medium account — yet many have achieved success in diverse ways using social media to speak forth who they are and what they stand for.
We’ve all been given a measure of this power — how are you using yours?