Social media, online activism, and a decade of #BlackLivesMatter
This report studies the evolution of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter and examines how Americans engage with political and social issues on social media. It uses a mixed-methods approach, including a survey of U.S. adults and an analysis of publicly available tweets.
Twitter’s findings are based on an analysis of more than 44 million publicly available tweets containing the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag over the past 10 years. Researchers at the center used the Twitter API to collect tweets with this hashtag that were published on the site as of spring 2023. Using this dataset, we analyzed how often Twitter users post and retweet that hashtag. Whether these tweets express support for or opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. Does it refer to police crackdowns or police violence? Other hashtags mentioned alongside #BlackLivesMatter. Read our methodology to learn more about how these tweets were identified and sampled.
The findings in this report are based on a survey of 5,101 U.S. adults conducted May 15-21, 2023. All survey participants are members of the center’s American Trends Panel (ATP). The ATP is an online survey panel drawn from a nationwide random sample of residential addresses. In this way, nearly all American adults have the opportunity to choose. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, and other categories. Learn more about ATP’s methodology here. Below are the survey questions and answers used in this report, as well as how they were answered.
In July 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, activists first used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to talk about racism, violence, and the criminal justice system. sparked a debate.
A decade later, Black Lives Matter stands as a model for a new generation of social movements intrinsically connected to social media. The enduring power of the hashtag itself is clear. There are currently more than 44 million tweets about him on Twitter from about 10 million different users, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of his published tweets from July 2013 to March 2023. #BlackLivesMatter tweets exist.
Use of the hashtag has fluctuated over the years, often in response to incidents of police violence against Black Americans. And perhaps no event is more directly tied to the use of hashtags than the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.
More than half of existing tweets containing the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag were posted between May and September 2020. Additionally, of the approximately 10 million individual users who tweeted the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, 6.8 million had most never used the hashtag before. ā that he posted over the course of 5 months.
Summer 2020 saw a new high in the number of tweets mentioning #BlackLivesMatter. However, the hashtag continues to exist on Twitter. Since October 2020, it has been used in nearly 250,000 tweets per month.
Here are some of the key findings from our analysis of 10 years of #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter.
- Most #BlackLivesMatter tweets express support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Approximately 72% of all #BlackLivesMatter tweets express clear support for the movement or its broader goals. Only 11% expressed opposition, and the rest did not express clear opposition or support.
- These tweets consistently focus on police and police violence. A third of #BlackLivesMatter tweets in the past decade refer to police, victims of police violence, or violent confrontations between civilians and law enforcement. Policing has been a consistent focus of #BlackLivesMatter conversations since 2013, despite the many changes in the political and social landscape that have occurred during this time.
- Over the years, #BlackLivesMatter has been associated with various other hashtags and causes. Approximately 55% of all #BlackLivesMatter tweets also include other hashtags. In the early days of the movement, the most common of these other hashtags primarily referred to specific instances and victims of police violence against Black Americans. More recently, it has expanded to include a variety of issues and causes.
- Many historical records of #BlackLivesMatter are no longer available. Black Lives Matter is one of the most prominent social movements that has developed and evolved entirely within the social media era. However, our analysis shows that about a third of #BlackLivesMatter tweets known to have been posted from 2013 to 2021, and up to 40% of tweets posted in summer 2020, were posted on Twitter. is no longer accessible.
Findings: Black Lives Matter and Social Media Activities
In addition to this tweet analysis, the center conducted a survey of 5,101 U.S. adults from May 15 to May 21, 2023. The survey asked Americans about their political activities on social media and their views on social media’s role in the national conversation about race and ethnicity. inequality.
The study found widespread exposure to Black Lives Matter on social media. 77% of social media users say they have encountered content related to Black Lives Matter on these sites. And this is true for the vast majority of users in most demographic groups.
Americans are much more likely to look Posts related to Black Lives Matter Post or share privately Their views on this topic. And if you actually choose to post, you’re more likely to show your support.
- 24% of social media users say they have posted or shared something in the past. support Black Lives Matter
- 10% of users say they have done so at the following times: Opposition.
Black social media users stand out for their support. 52% say they have posted or shared something on social media that supports Black Lives Matter. This percentage decreases to about 5 to 1 each for Hispanic, Asian, and White users.
The survey also found that 7% of Americans say they have participated in a Black Lives Matter protest. And that rate rises to 15% among blacks.
Young Black people in particular are more likely to vocally support Black Lives Matter on social media. Approximately 61% of Black social media users between the ages of 18 and 49 say they have posted or shared content supporting Black Lives Matter. This group also stands out for its participation in Black Lives Matter protests, with 17% of Black Americans in this age group saying they have attended a protest.
Viewing social media and news coverage as tools to draw attention to police violence against Black people
Three years after the nationwide protests and debates that followed the killing of George Floyd, a majority of Americans (81%) believe that police violence against Black people in the United States is a problem. However, his 85% of black adults describe it as: Selection subjects Problematically, that rate drops to 56% for Hispanic adults and 50% for Asian adults. An even smaller percentage of white adults feel this way (36%).
But how effective are social media and news outlets at raising awareness of this issue? It maintains its sexuality.
- 43% say Social media It’s a very effective way to draw attention to this issue.
- 32% say news organization Very or extremely effective.
The extent to which people view social media as an effective tool for spreading awareness varies by race/ethnicity and political attitudes.
About half or more of Black, Asian, and Hispanic adults say social media is a very effective way to bring attention to police violence against Black adults, compared to fewer white adults. far fewer (35%).
Democrats and Democratic voters who see police violence as a problem are also more likely than Republicans to say social media is an extremely or very effective way to expose police violence against Black people. more likely to respond (51% vs. 32%).
By comparison, views about the ability of news organizations to draw attention to these issues do not vary significantly by race/ethnicity or political party.
At the same time, the survey shows that the public has mixed views about the impact of social media on broader political engagement. Many Americans recognize how social media can help raise awareness and say the following statements describe social media very or somewhat well.
- 67% say āsocial media highlights important issues that might not otherwise receive attention.ā
- 67% say social media helps give voice to underrepresented groups.
- 47% said social media has made it easier to hold those in power accountable.
However, a larger share believes these platforms can be distracting and ineffective.
- 82% say social media distracts people from the issues that really matter.
- 76% say social media makes people think they are making a difference when in fact it is not.
Users value social media because it allows them to find like-minded people and share their political views.
Overall, 4 in 10 social media users say these platforms are very or somewhat important to them personally when it comes to finding people to share their opinions on important issues. Masu. Small caps place a high premium on using social media to engage with political or social issues (30%) and express political opinions (27%).
However, the level at which users value these sites for their political engagement has declined over time.
The percentage of social media users who say these sites are very or somewhat important for engaging with the issues they care about has fallen from 44% in 2020 to 30% today. This decline is also reflected in the view that social media is personally important for expressing political views and finding like-minded people.
As the Center’s previous research on social media activity found, the value users place on social media for their political engagement varies by race and ethnicity. About half of black, Hispanic, and Asian social media users say these sites are important for finding others who share their views on important issues, compared to half of white people. For users, it is about one-third. A similar pattern is seen when asked about involvement in issues and expressing political beliefs on social media.
Other important findings:
The survey also asked about five specific activities people may have recently participated in on social media, and found that some activities were more common than others. Here are US social media users over the past year:
- 34% said they have joined a group that shares their interest in an issue or cause.
- 26% encouraged others to take action on issues that matter to them.
- 14% have looked for information about rallies or protests happening in their area.
- 14% have changed their profile picture to show support for a cause or issue.
- 12% have used hashtags related to political or social issues.
In total, 46% of social media users have engaged in at least one of these activities. Certain groups, particularly Black groups, are more likely to report using social media for these purposes these days.