Social media activism

Link has been provided below The use of hashtags is one of many rhetorical strategies used in digital activism. In the case study, “Narrative Agency in Hashtag Activism: The Case of #BlackLivesMatter,” Guobin Yang studies how individuals use hashtag activism–to inspire change through narrative, or storytelling–by sharing personal experiences in tandem with a “social or political claim” (13). Yang defines this phenomenon as “narrative agency.”
To support his claim, Yang proposes that hashtag activism, through its narrative characteristics, can be categorized as follows:
1. formed – following the rules or conventions of a digital media platform to develop a consistent narrative format when engaging in hashtag activism
2. communal – connecting and uniting individuals, both known and unknown to each other, under a common social or political goal or belief with the use of hashtag activism
3. invented – using rhetoric creatively to broaden the context of the hashtag and demonstrate its significance in a larger historical narrative
4. skillful – shaping and reshaping the forms in which hashtag activism is shared and portrayed
5. protean – acknowledging that hashtag activism inspires a variety of engagement, including support, indifference, and opposition
Because Yang’s article is a “case study,” he focuses on a single hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) and Twitter post thread to demonstrate the connection between hashtag activism and narrative agency. At the end of his article, Yang encourages fellow researchers to further explore this connection between hashtag activism and narrative agency by applying his thesis to other examples of hashtag activism around the world.
For your assignment this week, you will take up Yang’s call-to-action and (1) choose one hashtag associated with one movement or activist group of your choice, (2) identify the potential narrative agency of a single post and/or its associated posts on a digital media platform of your choosing.

ESSAY REQUIREMENTS:

Find a post on any digital media platform that uses the hashtag you’ve chosen to focus on for this essay.

Share the link you’ll be analyzing (the post that is starting the online conversation) in your essay. Link has been provided.

Provide a 2-3 sentence summary of your main post’s content (what is your post talking about?)
Identify at least two separate characteristics of narrative agency (formed, communal, invented, skillful, and protean) that you observe being used in the sharing/reposting or comments associated with your main post.
Important Note: Make sure to use direct evidence (quotes) from both Yang’s article and your chosen post/reply/repost/comment) to support your assessment.

BREAKING: 3 officers and 2 paramedics have been indicted by a grand jury in the death of #ElijahMcClain, Colorado’s AG said.

It comes over two years after officers violently detained McClain and paramedics injected him with ketamine, resulting in his death days later. pic.twitter.com/GK0vMUMbL3

— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 1, 2021

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