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Black Lives Matter
In 2015, the Black Lives Matter movement erupted onto the scene. The movement brought police brutality and the need for criminal justice reform to a national conversation. Black people are disproportionately affected by police brutality, and social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube were used to post video proof of such abuse. -
#MeToo
In 2018, allegations of sexual assault were brought against Harvey Weinstein by several high-profile actresses. These allegations kicked-off a nation-wide movement known as #MeToo which brought to light the problems of sexual harassment that women face, especially in a workplace. Many famous men were brought down as more and more women came forward with their stories. -
Serbia Protests
In later 2018/early 2019, anti-government protests broke out in Serbia against their conservative government. After the opposition party leader was beaten by people in masks, #StopKrvavimKosuljama began trending, but the beating was really just the final straw. Dissatisfaction with the administration had been growing, and since the state has control of their media, protestors were required to go on social media to air their grievances. -
The Great Firewall
Prolonged protests went on in Hong Kong during 2019 over China's authoritarian regime. While protestors and defectors tried to share videos and posts of the protests online and on social media, such as Weibo, the Chinese government worked overtime to censor and remove all related media. -
Coronavirus Pandemic
In 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a worldwide pandemic. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook helped to spread both false rumors and accurate information about the coronavirus and its spread. The pandemic is ongoing and people are now sharing pictures and videos of people emptying out grocery stores, especially water and toilet paper.
