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Anonymous
Vigilante hackers called Anonymous dedicated their work to spreading private information to the public. Noteworthy examples include posting names and addresses of BART policemen and Anonymous taking down Syria's government website, among others. These "activists" spread awareness over public forums such as Facebook, claiming they're trying to create change. -
Election Time
Social media has been used to sway and motivate voters. President Obama's election in 2008 and 2012 widely used social media to organize supporters and get-out-the-vote campaigns, primarily Facebook. This proved effective as people when out and actually voted. -
Young Tunisians Revolution
A Tunisian vegetable vendor set himself on fire after local police stole produce from his stand. The suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi triggered a revolution on social media and sparked a protest of the oppressive regime of the country's 23-year President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali was then kicked out of presidency, all thanks to the Twitter movement called The Young Tunisians. -
The Haiti Disaster
After a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, nonprofits from all over the world used social media, primarily Facebook, to mobilize efforts to rescue and support the Haiti people. This changed how we react to natural disasters, as a year later the same method was used to support Japan during their earthquake in 2011. -
The Oksana Makar Case
Oksana was attacked and raped by 3 men. Afterwards she named her attackers who were arrested and promptly let go due to influential intervention. She posted a video of her wounds (one of which being a missing arm) on YouTube and it went viral. This sparked outrage and protests ensued. The men were re-arrested and sentenced to prison.
