Media Activism: The Occupy Wall Street Movement

Since the beginning of it's creation, social media has grown far stronger and faster than anybody ever imagined it would. It is used for many various things that many see as good and bad. It’s constantly keeping us updated and “in the loop” so that we never feel left out. It allows mass communication on a huge scale between friends, family, and the rest of the world along with it. For the past decade, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more have made delivering a message or agenda so much easier and more powerful than before. Many times, people will use media sites to organize social and political movements, as well as give details and talk about the topic. They also use them to share stories that have not made it on

One of the biggest examples of media activism took place in september of 2011. The Occupy Wall Street movement is just one example of how a small group of people were able to spread a message throughout twitter and facebook to bring people from all states to one place to stand for a belief that they all believed in. Once the rallies, protests and events started, it gained the attention from mass media which ultimately created a huge platform for change that the participants were looking for. This goes to show that media activism can work and have the effect that the participants are hoping for. One of the most important tools for media activism is YouTube. It is an efficient site that is usually used with other sites such as twitter and facebook. The biggest example of media activism used through YouTube was the video of Kony in 2012. This example of media activism went so viral throughout the world that it reached one hundred million views in just six days. This alone shows the power of youtube and other sites such as twitter and

One of the mains strengths of the group, which is also its main goal is that it brings awareness to the rest of the country about what is going on. Along with bringing awareness, the movement has done a good job at unifying people and putting the focus on the crimes committed by the police that are supposed to be protecting the people. Although it doesn’t seem as if the crimes by the police have slowed down much, it has made the people who committed the crimes responsible as well as prosecutions that have occurred that would have most likely not happened without the movement. While black lives matter is a very powerful movement that brings awareness to many, it also has its weaknesses. One example of a weakness that the movement has is that their supporters must realize that they cannot shout “Black Lives Matter” only when it suits them. For example, they must make it clear that black lives matter not only when cops kill them unlawfully, but also when their own kill each