Politics in the Digital Age

(Disclaimer: La Tonique Media LLC does not represent any political ideology. While we do not espouse any political beliefs, we do seek to provide a balance perspective by incorporating voices from both sides of the political spectrum.)

By Elaine Sanderson

24-hour news cycles are the norm, a tweet can derail a politician’s career yet equally, political participation and activism are on the rise. Is politics succeeding or failing in the digital era?

A digital age has enabled political participation to increase. In Finland, 2013, a petition supporting same-sex marriage policy garnered over 166,000 signatures, leading to the bill being brought to the Finnish Parliament in 2014. It was quickly voted into law. Juha-Pekka Hippi, former chairman of an LGBT advocacy group, said, “It ended up as kind of a folk movement. Lots of people were involved that had never been involved in these issues before.”

Parliamentary petitions allow people in the UK to make an impact through digital means. Any UK resident and British citizen can create a Parliamentary petition, with the same criteria needed to sign one. At 10,000 signatures the government will issue a written response. At 100,000 the petition is debated in Parliament. Through this method, issues regarded as important within the public interest are brought forward to those in government. In 2019, a petition labelled ‘Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU’ was created. It garnered six million signatures. Although the motion was rejected after a Parliamentary debate, petitions are an example of the importance of the digital age in enhancing the democratic process. 

“If you look at the way that politicians communicate today, it’s very different from the way that they used to communicate five, 10 years ago,” Wharton marketing professor Pinar Yildirim said. Social media has allowed incumbents and newcomers to speak directly to constituents. “Never have politicians been so accessible to the public,” said Pinar Yildirim, Maria Petrova, and Ananya Sen for the Globe Post.

In 2018, the Pew Research Centre reported that a majority of Americans think social media is important for getting elected officials to pay attention to issues or for initiating social movements. For example, an analysis of public tweets found that the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag has been used over thirty million times as of May 2018.

But is most digital political activism just slacktivism? The United Nations defines slacktivism as when people “support a cause by performing simple measures”. These people are not typically engaged or devoted to making a change. Others define it as lazy activism. Liking a Facebook page surrounding a cause but not taking any further action, is another example. Actively striving to make social change, not simply being aware of a cause, is political activism.

(Mitch Blunt)

25 celebrities led by actress Gal Gadot covered John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ in March. An intended message of solidarity towards global lockdowns, it quickly became an example of slacktivism. The New York Times said “On social media, Gadot and her crew were lambasted for bumblingly contributing, well, whatever this is as opposed to money or resources. Their genial naivete is blinding them to the grossest sin here: the smug self-satisfaction, the hubris of the alleged good deed. The presumption that an empty and profoundly awkward gesture from a passel of celebrities has any meaning whatsoever borders on delusion.” Criticism arose in the same fashion as it did on a day labelled Blackout Tuesday. People vowed not to post on their social media following the death of George Floyd. It was intended to educate people on the Black Lives Matter movement but instead mirrored an act of performative slacktivism. 

Whether these actions are considered activism or slacktivism, there is always the benefit of spreading awareness and education. Whilst most won’t look beyond a hashtag nor click the link you’ve shared, they are still becoming aware of a topic. Instagram accounts such as ‘shityoushouldcareabout’ are educating the masses on political issues that aren’t typically on the mainstream media's radar using visual means. Political education is arguably the silver lining of slacktivism.

Fake news - a false reporting of events - is an example of politics in the digital era leading to dangerous outcomes. Donald Trump is a notable offender and with his position as president, it has real-world consequences. The Independent reported that Trump was the “single largest driver” of coronavirus misinformation. He claimed, possibly joking, that injecting yourself with disinfectant and taking anti-malarial drugs was a preventative measure against coronavirus. As a result, a man in Arizona died after trying out the alleged cure. Joke or not, it resulted in a death. 

Before the 2016 presidential election, a story circulated online stating Hillary Clinton and former campaign chair, John Podesta, ran a child sex ring in the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant. It resulted in a 28-year-old man visiting the store, armed with an assault rifle, to see if the conspiracy was true. Fake news can alter the attitudes of social media users due to platforms having little regulation or editorial standards. 

Whilst fake news and performative activism are increasingly on the rise, politics in the digital age is one that should be looked upon positively. As Eric Schmidt, in his book, The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Businesses, said, “Digital empowerment will be, for some, the first experience of empowerment in their lives, enabling them to be heard, counted and taken seriously—all because of an inexpensive device they can carry in their pocket.” Ultimately, it is a chance for people to learn about topics - that once felt too complicated - through Instagram and it enables those who don’t have the means to attend protests, to get their voice heard using petitions or through digital public forums.

Elaine is a political writer for La Tonique. You can follow Elaine on Twitter @sando_99.