#5 Cyber-Activism & Hacktivism; Good or Evil?

(Image source: Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, 2017).

Cyber-activism is an emerging phenomenon defined as the process of using internet-based communication platforms such as social media, emails and podcasts to publise a cause and spread awareness in order to influence public opinion and major social and political processes, (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK, 2017). It allows individuals and organisations to utilise these online technologies to assist in fundraising, lobbying, e-petitions and gaining followers for civil movements, and is of great efficiency as it is the cheapest and most accessible platform to reach the largest number of people internationally, while acting as a voice for the voiceless.

Cyber-activism is also known as internet activism, online activism, digital activism, online organizing, electronic advocacy, e-campaigning and e-activism, (Techopedia, 2016). The most effective social networking platforms to spread awareness of social campaigns include Facebook, for its ability to create groups, pages, petitions and sharing among mutual friends, YouTube, as video messages are create a high impact on audiences and become globally viral, as well as Twitter and Instagram for hash-tagging and re-posting messages.

Below is an example of a viral cyber-activism campaign by Greenpeace spread through the medium of YouTube, in efforts to stop the company Nestle from destroying the Indonesian rainforest by using palm oil products that push Orangutangs towards extinction. The operation was a success as a result of digital medias extensive influence and wide reach, as within a few short months Nestle pledged to cut the production of those products.

The #BlackLivesMatter movement was another major successful example of activism that exploded into global consciousness, popularised through the power of social media. The slogan started in 2013 as a hashtag on Twitter and Tumblr sites, and since then has become the banner under which million of individuals press for change, even used by President Obama to memorialise victims of this unjust discrimination. "Social media plays a big part in everything," Kwame Rose, a 21-year-old protester from Baltimore told the Guardian. "I find out information, I put it on Twitter, it starts trending the more people talk about it and then the institutions start feeling the pressure", (Deen Freelon, 2016).

The Arab Spring wave of political upheaval also utilised social media as its powerful platform for advocacy, and demonstrates cyber-activisms' potential to bring people to fair and balanced news coverage with little or no bias of mainstream corporate media or propaganda, thereby becoming the de facto news.

However where cyber-activism is perceived as a positive development for social change, the activity of 'hacktivism' is commonly deemed as a threat to governments, public safety and national security. Although the concept shares similar goals to initiate activism through cyberspace motivated by political and ethical reasons, it rather does so through the illegal action of targeting public institutions and private citizens by hacking confidential information and disseminating it to the public, and attacking or defacing websites as protest, (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 2015). Anonymous is an example of a hacktivism group, well-publicised for their series of publicity stunts and attacks on government, religious, and corporate websites, sharing a similar purpose as Julian Assange's notorious WikiLeaks, another entity run by hacktivist culture.

Cyber-activism and hacktivism; good or evil? Like most weapons, it can be used for good or bad, to defend freedom or attack it. Perhaps time will tell whether they earn a reputation for net detriment or net benefit.

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(Image source: J Lyn, 2015)

References:

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK. (2017). What is Cyberactivism?. [online] Available at: https://www.uk-cpa.org/ehandbooks/ehandbook-on-cybersecurity-cybercrime/chapter-4-key-topics/what-is-cyberactivism/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].

Denning, D. (2015). The Rise of Hacktivism. [online] Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Available at: http://journal.georgetown.edu/the-rise-of-hacktivism/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].

Freelon, D. (2016). The Measure of a Movement: Quantifying Black Lives Matter’s Social Media Power. [online] Penn University. Available at: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/dcc/sites/www.sas.upenn.edu.dcc/files/Freelon%20-%20Measure%20of%20a%20Movement.pdf [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].

Techopedia.com. (2016). What is Cyberactivism?. [online] Available at: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27973/cyberactivism [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].