The Impact of Social Media in the Black Lives Matter Discourse. What Online and Offline Effects did the #BlackLivesMatter Hashtag have?

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 1,0, , language: English, abstract: This paper explores the impact of social media, especially Instagram and Twitter, on the discourse surrounding the BLM movement. The focus will mainly be on the framing of the crisis of racial inequality in the United States. Main questions are: Can the movement be seen as resulting out of a crisis, and why is the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag still important? What online and offline effects did the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag have? Through an examination of how social media has been used to frame the crisis, this paper tries to explain the ways in which this new media has been used to mobilize support, build community, and challenge the status quo.

The United States of America has long grappled with systemic racial inequality and social injustice, particularly towards black Americans. The racial inequality began many years ago and continues until this day. Despite historic efforts towards achieving civil rights, the plight of black people in America has continued to be a contentious issue, with police brutality and discriminatory policies remaining persistent problems. In recent years, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has emerged as a powerful force for change, driven largely by the use of social media platforms to bring awareness to the issue of systemic racism and its impact on Black lives.