Maha Salam | Staff Writer

In times of great turmoil and chaos, members of Gen-Z often resort to virtual outlets to push back against perceived violence and injustice, namely tools such as the internet and social media. As such, they rely on social platforms to raise awareness towards a certain cause that’s dear to them or that relays a message that personally resonates with them. This is known as “digital activism”, a form of civic engagement that emerged in the 21st century with the rise of the internet and mobile technology and has grown exponentially in the last decade alongside social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and more, using these key platforms for mass mobilization and political action.

Digital activism is one of the easiest ways – if not the easiest – to be politically engaged, since media technologies have democratized access to information and have made it possible for information to be disseminated rapidly and broadly. One simply must have a stable Wi-Fi connection to shape and contribute to movements that align with their beliefs. This accessibility has empowered individuals from diverse backgrounds to voice their concerns, support marginalized communities, and challenge systemic injustices with unprecedented reach.\

One notable example of digital activism is the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, which went viral on Twitter in 2017 and led to the exposing and imprisonment of powerful Hollywood individuals such as Harvey Weinstein. Another example of digital activism is the Free Palestine movement, which gained massive traction on social media after October 2023 where platforms were used in various ways to share information, promote Palestinian stories and coordinate mass protests and boycotts. However, while digital activism offers a remarkable potential for change, it is not without its challenges, in particular since the speed at which information is shared outpaces the speed at which it is verified, consequently making online spaces prone to dangerous misinformation.

In a country rife with grievances and as unstable as Lebanon, where traditional ways of political engagement (such as electoral participation, protests, and petitions) do not guarantee any real outcome or visibility, digital activism has become the main way to mobilize, communicate, and influence public opinion. For instance, an integral part of the 2019 uprising was the use of social media to call citizens to action (via channels such as Instagram and WhatsApp) and incite them to take to the streets. Social media platforms were also the main tools used to share the latest updates on protests and road closures. Some may recall the trend of changing profile pictures to red on Instagram as a symbol of support. But even then, waves of misinformation cropped up, whether unintended or with malicious purposes to sow panic and mistrust among the Lebanese. Specifically, most misinformation could be traced back to WhatsApp voice messages. This is important to note since a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2018 showed that 84% of Lebanese adults used WhatsApp, surpassing countries like Jordan, Mexico, and the Philippines. These voice messages would typically be forwarded many times and begin with the sender greeting their interlocutor, such as “Guys, I hope you’re well” or “[Name], listen carefully”, establishing that the sender knows their interlocutor intimately and entrusts them with the information they are delivering. Senders would usually adopt a fearful and urgent tone and would hint to possible sectarian clashes or a certain political party subjecting protesters to violence, before urging receivers to share their message as widely as possible: “Tell everyone, quickly forward it to all your groups” or “do me a favour and forward this voice note to as many people as possible, we want every Lebanese to know”.

More recently, during the Lebanon-Israel war, social media was unsurprisingly the main tool for political engagement. It was used to organize the collection and distribution of monetary donations, meal plans, and sanitary products, and to share the location of available spaces for fleeing residents. It was also used to raise awareness to the various crimes committed by the Israeli forces, whether they be humanitarian or environmental, through Instagram stories or TikTok clips and reposts. The latter was especially useful for AUB students who live abroad or have a following made of people who are not Lebanese, since META’s algorithm would shadow-ban posts that showed the disproportionate violence caused by the war, unless these posts were specifically reposted by individual accounts.

On the flip side, this need to combat powerlessness through digital activism led to some playing into the manipulations of nefarious parties. For instance, WhatsApp was also used to circulate false information via voice messages (same ploys as 2019) or fabricated evacuation maps, resulting in mass chaos in the concerned areas. Moreover, false narratives circulated widely as people would repost unverified and sometimes out-of-context content with emotionally charged captions that often prioritized virality over accuracy.

This goes to show that social media has become an essential platform for political engagement with the ability to amplify voices and share information rapidly, making digital activism a powerful tool for the Lebanese youth to mobilize, raise awareness, and drive change in times of crisis. However, the same speed and accessibility that make digital activism effective also renders it vulnerable to misinformation, which can distort reality and incite unnecessary panic. As the situation in Lebanon continues to evolve, it is crucial for young online users to adopt fact-checking practices to ensure their engagement remains impactful.

Sources:
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=honorscollege_pos

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/concrete-action-combat-disinformation-and-hate-speech-ministry-information-unesco-and-oif-sign