Social Media Shows Support for Paris
The world joined in solidarity for those affected by the terrorist attacks on Paris, but some people questioned the lack of public displays for other targeted cities.
Contributor: Jeff Dubrof
Islamic State terrorists claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks on the French capital that killed 129 people and injured 352 others. Over the weekend, people across all platforms of social media banded together to show support for Paris and its people.
French illustrator Jean Jullien no longer lives in France, but after the attacks he drew and shared a peace symbol that immediately gained traction online. His original post has over 162,000 likes and people continue to share his image.
On Twitter, the hashtag #PorteOuverte began trending worldwide almost immediately after news of the attacks became public. Porte ouverte means “open door” in French, and is being used by Paris residents to offer a safe place to stay during the chaos.
Various other hashtags gained traction this weekend, including #PrayForParis, #JeSuisParis, and #StrandedInUS among others.
Public figures from French President Francois Hollande to Lebron James showed their support for Paris as well. Translated, this tweet from Hollande means “Facing terror, there is a nation that knows how to defend, able to mobilize its forces and, once again, will defeat the terrorists.”
The movement was not limited to Twitter, however, as Facebook has given users the option to show their support for Paris by creating a temporary profile picture. The partially transparent tricolor filter mirrors the French flag and overlays users’ current profile photos.
While changing a profile photo is a fast and easy way for people to show support for Paris, there has been some controversy surrounding the option. Some Facebook users have pointed out that the website did not create a profile picture filter for the Lebanese flag, despite bombings that took place in Beirut on Friday.
“I really think that these filters don’t actually unite us as humanity, but separate us. We don’t see filters for Syria or other problems that are happening in the world,” said Javier Lugo, a USC student.
Furthermore, on Friday Facebook introduced its “Check-In” feature, which allowed people who listed their location as Paris to let family and friends know that they were safe through Facebook. However, the feature was not available for the Middle East.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a statement on his profile explaining the site’s plan for expanding the check-in feature. After acknowledging users’ questions about why Facebook enabled the feature for Paris but not for other cities, Zuckerberg said, “Until yesterday, our policy was only to activate Safety Check for natural disasters. We just changed this and now plan to activate Safety Check for more human disasters going forward as well.”
The outpouring of social media support following the Paris attacks allowed the global community to come together to recognize and mourn the events, but it also raised questions about the recognition given to other incidents.
