Infographics as a form of political protest
Young people throughout history have seemed to be at the forefront of protest, be the antiVietnam war protests, rock against racism, Tiananmen square march, Hong-Kong’s umbrella protest, students and young people have historically stood at the forefront of political campaigns. Recently however it seems that political movements have moved from the streets to our phones. Gen-Z are no doubt the most online-literate generation there has ever been, our lives seem to be navigated through online spaces. However accessible the online space has made politics, queries must also be raised, how much can these colourful ‘infographics’ be trusted, is nuance lost in this short-form and most of all, does this signal the death of political protest in favour of a simple reshare.
Often political posts are curated for use on social media sites to share information or ideas. Using colourful graphics and concise wording to convey a particular message these have been dubbed ‘infographics’ and have creates a whole new culture of online activism. Whilst infographics have been used for a long time as a visual presentation of information they have been adopted by the online space to make political content aimed at making information more accessible.
The changing nature of Instagram can be tracked back to the surge of interest in the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd in 2020. Rightly so, the online space exploded in politically fuelled posts, the ten-picture reel launched by Instagram in 2017 became a political tool. From brunch pictures to information on abolishing the police, institutional racism, Critical Race Theory, unlearning bias, microaggressions, privilege, Instagram was forever changed. To appeal to the algorithm, and no doubt young people too, information was laid out against colourful backgrounds in an easy-to-follow format. Political discourse, of increasingly complex issues, filled feeds and became commonplace. Celebrities and brands alike, previously expected to be largely apolitical were called upon to show support, if they did not they were part of the problem. Although in fact many of them were, the dispute between L’Oréal and Munroe Bergdorf, a black trans woman, exposed the hypocrisy of many of these brands ‘piggybacking’ on the work of black people as a ‘trend.’
Infographics and ‘activism’ in online spaces took off, reposting became a political necessity. Whether or not you had hundreds, thousands or even millions of followers. Fans called out their favourite celebrities and influencers to post, when they did, rejoicing that there ‘favs’ had declared that Black Lives did in fact matter. Political discourse online manifested, encompassing all types of issues and political trends. According to Ofcom Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are now the most used news sources for young people. Increasingly traditional news sources are seen as less reliable, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report only 34% of the public have overall trust in the news. 43% of British newspaper columnists were educated at private schools, the news seems to be less accessible for young people so indeed, they are looking to find new sources, created by their peers. However, attractive looking, colourful infographics are rarely sourced or cited, or offer more than a snapshot of information. Nuances that are required to understand complex political issues are lost and scholars and activists are often left uncredited. Schultz who is a part of the organisation Verfiy This warns of the dangers of following aesthetic trends in online activism; “these accounts have no sourcing. Most of the time, you don’t even know who’s running the account. So, for people who are not news literate, it’s beautiful and has a great photo and what appears to be founded statistics.” Misinformation can spread like wildfire, for example the recent viral post on Instagram claiming the 15,000 Iranian protesters had been sentenced to death, which was in fact not true at all. Therefore it must be clear to people accessing their news on social media sites that everything must be consolidated through personal research. It must offer a stepping-stone into the political rather than blindly diving headfirst.
Of course, these movements do translate to real life change, the BLM protest or the School Strike for Climate marches, involving 1.4 million young people are some examples. Social media no doubt exposes a larger demographic to political discourse and expands the reach of movements further than they ever have before. Grassroots movements are now increasingly begun through online pages, the free periods movement being an example of a hashtag and Instagram page leading to protest and consequently real-life legal change. However constructive these may be in translating the online to the tangible there are no doubt still those that reconcile their political obligations through simply reposting these ideas to their followers (who no doubt exists in their own echo chamber). The instant gratification created by this denies actual accountability and the historical importance of protest. 34% of young people say the internet has inspired them to take action and a larger group of 66% believe that sharing posts is in fact a form of activism. Whilst sharing credible information is valid, echo chamber do still exist, the impact of sharing a post to those that think the same as you almost nullifies the supposed ‘activism.’ It cannot be the only form or medium through which current day change and activism is enacted. Political protest moving into online spheres has many positives, but it cannot be seen as the be all, end all solution to modern political conversations. It cannot be seen as all-encompassing but rather a steppingstone to inspire further personal research and essentially action.
