During the course of this past year, there have been a plethora of protests regarding race and politics. Two main protests I will be covering are the BLM protests and political backlash due to the election resulting in the storming of the capital. The coverage of these two protests was broadcasted very differently by opposing sides. Instagram was a platform during this time that was able to display all perspectives of these protests/ movements.
The Black Lives Matter protests began to start progressing during June of 2020. There were protests and riots all over the United States. These protesters were pleading for action to be taken due to the racism spreading over the U.S. With the death of George Floyd and many other assaults on black people, Instagram covered it all. Posts flooded people’s feeds with Floyd’s face and story. The actual video of his murder was blasted all over the app. This was an event known by everyone and anyone who had Instagram. This event was reposted onto upset citizens’ stories which lead to the virtual protest “blackout.” This was a day on Instagram where everyone posted a photo of a black screen to show their support of the black lives matter movement and draw more attention to the issue.
There will be people on any platform that have opposing views on things. The George Floyd murder had many people outraged, but there were some people who tried to justify the officer’s behavior. This would cause wars in the comment sections of people’s posts, making the app a potent place. People were posting for what you believed in and trying to justify it to millions of people. For the most part, people were in support of the movement and tried their best to be an ally. People who posted to raise awareness were helping the movement’s progression and pushing to end racial violence.
Trump rallies were another large group protesting. They were protesting Biden’s presidency and decided to attack the capital. This was posted in a very negative light. People across Instagram were distraught with how the authorities were treating the situation. As the majority of the intruders were white, people were upset about how the police had handled them. Barely anyone was harmed at the violent break-in, unlike many peaceful BLM protests.
Unlike the news, Instagram shows two sides to every event. I hope that more people pay attention to social media news as it is a new way of life. Seeing both sides of an event will help people better understand events as both sides are being broadcasted. People can live stream events, and people can watch as if they are attending. Having an interactive platform is incredibly beneficial in today’s complex society.
Journalism 2.0 