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If you’ve had Instagram or TikTok in the past few years, you may have noticed an uptick in political posts on your feed. It can get a little uncomfortable. Popular terms like “Silence is Violence” and “Your Silence is Killing Us” can take a mental toll, and not saying or posting anything can make you feel like you’re part of the issue. But that’s not true.

It’s okay to not repost all of the infographics you see to your Instagram story. You don’t have to use what can often be performative activism — advocacy for clout, not out of devotion to a cause — to prove a point.

In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd led many people to post information about demonstrations, police violence statistics and even bring other accounts of police brutality to life.

These took shape in the form of easy to process “infographics” — posts that give viewers quick information about a topic in an easy-to-digest way. Though convenient, infographics don’t have to be fact checked before being posted and can contribute to the circulation of misinformation.

In the midst of the Israel-Hamas war, some have taken to social media in a similar way to show their full support for what they believe.

For those who don’t feel educated enough to speak on this issue, the expectation of advocacy is unfair. Shunning everyone who does not repost on their Instagram stories and implying they support terrorism is emotionally manipulative at the very least. Nobody wants to seem hateful, and “infographics” like these prey upon that instinct in us all.

The Israel-Hamas war cannot be watered down into a slideshow, yet the tone of these posts makes it seem that anyone who views them knows everything they need to understand this issue. Though, this isn’t the first time a complex global issue has been broken down into infographics and social media trends.

Arlo Stone | Digital Design Director

In 2019, #prayforsudan was trending amid a humanitarian crisis in Sudan. The campaign revolved around people changing their profile pictures to show solidarity with the nation. But as it turns out, turning a profile picture blue does very little to help those under martial law.

The story gets worse. There were accounts roughly named “Sudanese Meal Project” on Instagram that had no ties to any Sudanese relief efforts. One of their posts claimed “a like and a share” of said post would allot one meal donation to Sudan. This was a ploy to get more followers and shares. The Atlantic deemed it all a “tragedy hussle.”

Very little actually gets done from posts like this. In fact, sometimes social media activism is used more as a way to boost one’s profile than it is to create sustainable change or impact.

This is not an indictment on all people who post in support of a side during a conflict. Using social media to spread genuine awareness can be a great way to take action, especially when a conflict is overseas and a person may not be financially capable of donating to a cause.

But once the information and message becomes weaponized, fabricated or used for clout, that’s when the issues arise.

If you haven’t posted anything, that’s okay. But this isn’t an excuse to not seek out credible news sources to be informed about a topic. It just means that information doesn’t have to be consumed and circulated on social media relentlessly, especially when 74 percent of social media users say they have seen information on social media sites that has been flagged or labeled false.

If you have the means, support charities and other funds that send resources to those in need. Sometimes the best deeds are done quietly.

Jish Sokolsky is a sophomore ​​broadcast and digital journalism major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at jasokols@g.syr.edu.

Published on November 2, 2023 at 12:14 am