From emails to Instagram, communication via the internet has only increased its influence upon our world. Contemporary globalization has led to homogenized popular culture, but more importantly, it has had its share of feeding into foreign issues. The advent of Social Media has fostered a platform of "virtual public spheres," allowing several groups to begin creating structure when fighting for change, beginning with "social movement entrepreneurs" to lead the protests. From this, various protest movements have emerged, "[forging] unlikely coalitions of labor… global social justice activists [and more, all] collectively critical of the adversities of neoliberal globalization and its associated militarism." (Langman 2005) All involved groups in a conflict can now be found on Social Media, including "​​conflict parties, journalists, humanitarian organizations, and warring groups" (Zahoor 2021).

Global movements regarding social justice and human rights have continued to rise in number since the 1960s, fueled by the international acknowledgment of these fights for resource mobilization. With the use of Social Media, issues of human rights, the fights of which previously had been limited to within states, have begun to cross national boundaries, finding equal fights from foreign countries (e.g., the #FreePalestine movement on the Israel v. Palestine argument fought from America [Cervi 2022]). The previous audience of media coverage- has become the media coverage. Opinionated material, oftentimes under-educated, on serious topics, has become prevalent on Social Media platforms. With this, the final question arises: How beneficial is social media in dealing with foreign issues?

EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA: THE FIGHT FOR PALESTINE

The Israeli-Palestine conflict has been one of the most contentious global conflicts of the past few decades, since World War II, since 1948 (Waxman, 2019). The United States Plan for Palestine in 1947 has been cited as the root cause of conflict and led to the 1948 Palestine War, which resulted in the expulsion of many Palestinian Arabs (Ilan Pappe 2007). Since then, there have been many wars and conflicts, but the latest escalation caused by Hamas’s terrorist attacks in October 2023 has pushed the Isreali-Palestine crisis to a boiling point that the world has not seen since the war of 1967 (McKernan et al. 2023). In the fight for Palestine, social media has garnered a massive following in support of Palestine. Past research has validated that social media has become one of the largest instruments of protest (Huda 2022). Huda, Muhammad Nurul, et al. have found that "social media relation tends to use dominating hashtags to share the information on Palestine’s issues against Israel… [Indonesia] supports the Palestinian protest and resistance (victims) homeland and freedom of Palestine and Al-Quds" (2022). However, Palestinians have faced major restrictions from within their homeland when it comes to sharing information. The Israeli control over the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector "make[s] it impossible for Palestinians to develop an independent network and thereby enjoy a… flow of information" (Muhtaseb 2023). With this control over communication, Palestinians are restricted in their freedom of expression. Many Palestinians can no longer use Social Media as a form of protest or to spread their message; however, the global fight through social media has taken over in the fight for the Palestinians.

Along with the benefits of social media garnering attention to previously under-acknowledged voices, it has brought along several negatives as well. Regarding virality, morals are often left in the dust in hopes of fame. Conflict, war, and violence-related news are topics that gain immediate attention, whether the information is accurate or not. With this, misinformation is spread rapidly, only further fostered by hyper-specific algorithms like those of TikTok. The veracity of information coming from social media has become difficult to trust. Polarization is bound to occur. In a study by Musharaf Zahoor, he found that "news posts about Palestine-Israel conflict generate more polarization among the social media users than any other information post… attract[ing major] public attention (Salmenin 2020)" (2021).

The use of social media has fostered not only unification but fracturing as well among Palestinians. Moderate fights for freedom versus more radical ones have created a division among Palestinian protestors. In a research paper by Prof. Dr. Mahmood Monshipouri, he argued that social media has "facilitated international condemnation of Israeli occupation but also has fueled violence and sectarian conflict" (2018). Social media has become a facilitator in rising conflict as well as violence. Some arguments "[promote] violence and anti-Semitic rhetoric [and have] encouraged a series of individual attacks on Israeli citizens and IDF, most notably in the 2015 unrest" (Mahmood 2018). One observer from Mahmood's paper notes, "Western media… act[ed] as megaphones for one side of a complex war" (Mahmood 2018). This one-sided bias has resulted in a major perception gap in both sides of the war. Both the Palestinian resistance movement as well as the Israeli government have strategically utilized social media with each respective fight. Social media has become the modern medium for pushing political agendas.

PERFORMATIVE ACTIVISM

Performative allyship is the unhelpful support given to a marginalized group in a manner that is often harmful to the cause at hand, defined as “shallow or self-serving support for social justice causes” (Thimsen 2022). It is usually motivated by a reward, such as “being a ‘good person’ for being ‘on the right side’ of a cause or ‘on the right side of history’” (Kalina 2020). Their fights are often insincere and lack the substance of an impassioned protester. Regarding social media, influencers often feel compelled to speak on issues, whether they are properly educated on them or not (more on this in the Celebrity Activism portion). Fans expect celebrities to announce their positions on topics; Peter Kalina makes a point in his research that “it is entirely possible to be opposed to racism or anti-Semitism while at the same time [saying] nothing” (2020).

One of the largest occurrences of performative activism was the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020. The Black Lives Matter movement began in response to police brutality and state violence towards African Americans (McCalla-Johnson 2021). ‘Blackout Tuesday,’ where Social media users posted black squares to spread awareness, was a prime example of performative activism. Many of my peers had posted their black squares, deleting them promptly after the BLM movement no longer had large social media coverage. As the TikTok #FreePalestine movement continues, many have referred back to the BLM movement in fear that the large acknowledgment of this cause will soon be diminished in the same way. However, in a 2022 paper, Laura Cervi & Carles Marín-Lladó claim that the activism occurring is not performative but “playful.” Cervi and Marín-Lladó claim that “these playful performances allow them to spread their political messages among a youth audience that potentially had no previous interest (and probably not even knowledge) about Palestine, fostering both the humanization of Palestinians and building a new solidarity network” (2022).

• CELEBRITY ACTIVISM

Among the talks on performative activism, celebrity activism is prominent. When it comes to the conflict in Darfur, celebrities have exaggerated the conflict, advocating for drastic solutions and other unreasonable measures to solve it (Huliaras 2012). Celebrities fought for warrants from the ICC rather than a quiet solution, making the matter of Darfur much worse than it had previously been. Mia Farrow, a popular celebrity, coined the term “Genocide Olympics” in her extreme fight for Darfur. As expressed by A.C. Budabin in a 2015 journal, this coinage “demonstrates the capacity of a celebrity to convince the international community to embrace a new norm.” These celebrities framed these crises for fans as “neoliberal subjectivities and their shaping of ethical consumerism” (Daley 2013). For this reason, using social media as a ground for quick internet fame has brought about a multitude of influencers, all beginning to speak their own (often uneducated) opinions on trending crises. It’s important to note that these influencers may be influencing in the wrong way. Fans of influencers blindly follow the opinions of their favorite creators. I ask, is it reasonable to get information on a global political issue from an 18-year-old TikTok creator?; Or, does a celebrity not speaking on a global issue mean ignorance?

EFFECT OF 'MIS-MEDIA': THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE

The Rwandan Genocide occurred in 1994, lasting only 1 year, yet having an impact that was almost immeasurable upon its population. Over 1,000,000 were killed in Rwanda, the killing rate exceeding over 5x that of the Nazis (Melvern 2010). The motive of this genocide was the monopolization of power and the destruction of political opposition. This mass killing had been "well documented in human rights reports," yet when it came to the international coverage of this genocide, it was lacking not only in size but in the fact that the Western media mischaracterized a genocide at this level as 'tribal war' rather than planned ethnic extermination. (Schimmel 2010). Not only did this perpetuate stereotypes linked to African issues, but this "cliché dominated the early reports on the genocide" (Melvern 2010). A study conducted by Schimmel revealed the factors of this gross misinformation to have been "racism, lack of media interest in reporting [African issues],... an uncritical approach to government statements downplaying genocide, and the drive to report stories that gratify Western viewers' perception of the West as being morally idealistic, just, and [civilized]" (2010). In the Rwandan genocide, Western media sacrificed morals and the truth for virality- something that continues to be reflected today with the use of social media and current foreign conflicts.

THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Unlike the Rwandan genocide, the violent conflict occurring in the Central African Republic has been going on for the past two decades. This conflict began between two distinct rivals but has become increasingly complex over time. However, global media has little coverage of this ongoing dispute (Isaacs-Martin 2019). This lack of international coverage has been understood to mean that “the scale of the sectarian violence has reached unprecedented proportions” (Dukhan 2016). If I had asked one of my peers right now what they thought of the Central African Republic crisis, many would ask me for clarification, not knowing what the crisis was. Admittedly, prior to my research, I had known little of this crisis as well. International media coverage of this issue has been minute, and when it is covered, it has been presented very oversimplified. (Dukhan 2016)

INCITEMENT OF GENOCIDE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

The use of social media as a platform for incitement to genocide has become an increasingly common one. In cases where social media has been accused of being a facilitator in genocide, several journals have taken stances of possible consequences. Neema Hakim argues that “individual employees at social media companies may be complicit in incitement to genocide where certain legal requirements are satisfied” (2020-2021). Hakim addresses the advent of major disinformation and suggests reforming international law to account for this step towards possible incitement of genocide. Hakim argues that “(1) the direct and public incitement to commit genocide is a crime; (2) an actor may be complicit in the direct and public incitement to commit genocide via aiding and abetting liability or, as is more likely, common purpose liability; and (3) while international criminal liability cannot extend to a corporation, liability can reach individuals working on behalf of that corporation” (2020-2021). While some argue that social media has given means of humanizing groups, others argue it has the ability to do the complete opposite as well- dehumanization. However, when it comes to punishing social media platforms for inciting genocide, the situation poses a unique challenge. A 2021 article by Kyle Rapp argues that “the prohibition of genocide obligates home states—those in which companies are headquartered—to act in such cases.” Rapp states that in cases like those mentioned above, home states should be obligated to have access to social media. However- this poses the question of the morality of restriction. Like the aforementioned limits placed on Palestinians by the Israeli ICT sector, these proposed restrictions would likely be considered in a similar manner.

In conclusion, in cases where social media has been a clear facilitator of genocide or genocidal intent, it is best to implement policies surrounding the criminal punishment of creators and the countries involved. In situations where home countries are purposefully creating content with the intention of starting genocidal thoughts, they should be punished by the International Criminal Court. When it is specific creators and influencers, they should be approached in a similar way, especially when purposefully misinforming their audience. The idea of punishing social media platforms themselves is slightly different. Social media platforms should restrict misinformation. Like how Instagram has implemented a misinformation detector that shows that a post is inaccurate to its users, other popular platforms like TikTok or X (previously known as Twitter) should apply the same changes.

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