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The social media fight against Trump is a modern battle of the presses

Photo: nevermindtheend/flickr

At first glance there would seem to be little that would connect Donald Trump with Martin Luther, but stick with me here.

In 1517 Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation with his 95 Theses. This document railed against Papal indulgences, which the faithful could buy as a sort of "Get Out of Jail Free" card for sin.

The later Reformation also held that Christian scripture is the only source of the rules for worship. There was no need for priests to get in the way. This, of course, went over in Rome like a fart in a spacesuit. 

Tags:
social media twitter mobile technology Donald Trump Fake News alternative facts reformation printing press

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Image: Flickr/VeryBusyPeople
Five types of people who marched on Washington this weekend -- or stayed home
By
Ishani Weera
| January 23, 2017

Saturday's Women's March on Washington was livestreamed on Facebook by citizen journalists and major media alike.

If you logged into your social media platform of choice over the weekend you were likely to find photos, video and reflective posts -- ranging from reinvigorated enthusiasm to cautious critique -- all over your newsfeed.

Here are five types of broad perspectives on marching that we noticed on social media over the weekend. Each had something valuable to add to the ongoing public discourse on the nature of solidarity, Trump, inequality and organizing resistance.

1. PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T MARCH, BECAUSE.

 

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Image: Flickr/Michael Ignatieff
Jason Kenney -- just visiting Alberta? -- piously congratulates Michael Ignatieff for Order of Canada
By
David J. Climenhaga
| January 2, 2017

Jason Kenney's Tweet of congratulations to former Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff on Friday was a rare moment of graciousness amid the usual stream of splenetic social media outbursts Albertans have come to associate with the candidate to lead Alberta's Progressive Conservative Party.

"Congratulations to @M_Ignatieff and all others receiving the Order of Canada today," former prime minister Stephen Harper's top lieutenant piously proclaimed in the Tweet. "A much-deserved recognition of a brilliant Canadian." (Emphasis added.)

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Columnists

Fake news is foolish but the consequences are real

Source: Facebook

This week a photo of a racist letter made the rounds on social media.

It read:

"Dear Terrorist-Bitch,

We are writing to you as the newly organized Neighborhood Town Watch. We understand that you currently wear a scarf on your head and we would like to put you on notice that this will no longer be tolerated in our neighborhood.

Now that America is great again, we would like to offer you two opportunities to avoid any consequences on your poor previous decisions. First, you can take your radical attire of and live like all Americans. Or, your second option, you can go back to the God Forsaken land you came from.

America is Great Again,

Neighborhood Town Watch"

Tags:
social media Digital Media Donald Trump hate mongering Fake News U.S. election 2016

Comments

We welcome your comments! rabble.ca embraces a pro-human rights, pro-feminist, anti-racist, queer-positive, anti-imperialist and pro-labour stance, and encourages discussions which develop progressive thought. Our full comment policy can be found here. Learn more about Disqus on rabble.ca and your privacy here. Please keep in mind:

Do

  • Tell the truth and avoid rumours.
  • Add context and background.
  • Report typos and logical fallacies.
  • Be respectful.
  • Respect copyright - link to articles.
  • Stay focused. Bring in-depth commentary to our discussion forum, babble.

Don't

  • Use oppressive/offensive language.
  • Libel or defame.
  • Bully or troll.
  • Post spam.
  • Engage trolls. Flag suspect activity instead.

Understanding social media algorithms can limit their power to shape thousands of lives

People need to know how social media platforms can evoke the power of code and algorithms to shape entire populations. It's a rough battle.

Related rabble.ca story:

Social media algorithms are shaping our daily lives -- and they're not neutral
Tags:
social media facebook algorithms code society of control
Image: Pexels/freestocks
Social media algorithms are shaping our daily lives -- and they're not neutral
By
Kyle Curlew
| October 6, 2016

In 2014, a team of psychologists and computer scientists engineered Facebook's newsfeed to show either positively or negatively associated words for 689,003 users. Users responded by posting either positive or negative comments to the emotively rigged words. This was the first recorded instance of mass emotional contagion. Facebook successfully, and secretly, shaped the emotions of hundreds of thousands of unaware users. When the results were published, controversy erupted.

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Image: Flickr/Blue Coat Photos and www.bluecoat.com
Social media is amazing at manufacturing our consent and it's not OK
By
Kyle Curlew
| September 28, 2016

By now you have agreed and consented to countless Terms of Use and Privacy/Data Policies within the expansive social media ecosystem. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, What's App, Snapchat, Yik Yak and many more share one major theme in common -- they all need your consent, for surveillance, data collection, intellectual property seizure -- and they find ways of getting it.

Your consent is typically accounted for by two things: one, by scrolling rapidly to the bottom of these documents and clicking "agree"; or, two, your daily, continued, sustained usage of the social media platform. Your consent is important. And it's a legal necessity. By doing these two tasks, you are allowing them to do things that may entail consequences at the end of the day.

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Brian Jean
Brian Jean's crack about beating Rachel Notley may have ended his hopes to lead Alberta's right
By
David J. Climenhaga
| September 1, 2016

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

Brian Jean may well have destroyed his chances of ever leading Alberta's conservative movement back to the Promised Land of government with an idiotic off-the-cuff remark Tuesday night about beating Premier Rachel Notley.

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Image: Tinder.com
How Tinder is watching and sorting our intimacy
By
Kyle Curlew
| August 16, 2016

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

Tinder, one of the most popular mobile dating applications on the planet, has become almost ubiquitous in urban centres around Canada. With millions of users swiping left and right and looking for their future (or temporary) lovers, I am left wondering what kinds of exploitative properties are hidden away in the software structure of the application.

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rabble radio
rabble radio

Soapboxes, Sellouts and Upstarts

June 30, 2016
| The Canadian media landscape and where rabble fits in: a talk by Wayne MacPhail, rabble.ca's director of emerging media.
Length: 29:57 minutes (34.28 MB)
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