Digital Advocacy Is the New Frontline in Defending Global Free Speech

Sanskar Koirala, Guest Writer from Global Human Rights Advocacy 

Note: This article was written by a student of Dr. Meghan Cohen, in the class, Global Human Rights Advocacy. The Highlander is proud to serve as a platform for guest contributions and encourages collaboration between our community and our publication. 

In the world today, the human right to free speech is facing an increased level of threat. Across the world, governments are censoring the press, silencing dissent, and controlling information to maintain their grip on power. In various countries of the world, speaking out against injustice has led to intimidation, violence, or arrest. However, at the same time that conventional means of expression are being curtailed, there has been an emergence of a new front in the fight for human rights—digital advocacy. Social media sites that are often regarded as superficial have turned out to be very vital in the fight to expose human rights abuses, challenge censorship, and give ordinary people the power to speak the truth to empower. Digital advocacy has turned out to be an important means of defending the human right to free expression in an era of repression.

Opposition to digital advocacy has been founded on the perception that digital advocacy is superficial, easily manipulated, and does not have the power to bring about change. This perception has been informed by research that has indicated that online visibility does not always have an impact on the policies of governments, even when global visibility is at its highest. For example, while #StandWithUkraine was successful in altering international perceptions, it was not powerful enough to alter government policies on its own. Other arguments against social media activism contend that social media is rife with misinformation, “echo chambers,” and biases inherent in social media algorithms that favor “sensational” rather than “true” content. Sharma and other researchers contend that this environment promotes false information faster and further than true information, making it difficult to promote authentic human rights activism. This, they argue, shows that digital activism is not an effective bulwark against government censors and manipulators. 

However, these arguments fail to take into account an important truth: oppressive regimes fear social media activism because, despite its inability to immediately change policies, it does change perceptions, saves information, and creates safe avenues for free expression when protests cannot be held. The level of international awareness created by social media is an effective counterbalance to oppressive regimes that try to silence dissenting voices.

Studies have been consistently showing that digital advocacy holds tremendous revolutionary influence. Schiocchet, Muller, and Castilho, for instance, discuss the role of Instagram in human rights education, although the challenges that come with algorithmic restrictions. The studies show that social media provides an opportunity for breaking down tough issues and engaging with a population that would otherwise be out of reach. Özkan, on the other hand, provides an insightful discussion on the role of social media in mobilizing attention all over the world on human rights abuses through hashtags, stories, and campaigns. These are not empty actions, but a coming together of people in solidarity with victims of human rights abuses, and a celebration of their stories and information that the government would otherwise want to keep suppressed. Digital advocacy provides an opportunity and platform for marginalized voices to be heard, especially where traditional media seems to fail them. The #SayHerName movement, for instance, was led by social media and was instrumental in acknowledging Black women victims of police brutality, an issue that traditional media had consistently failed to highlight. This movement, therefore, shows that digital advocacy provides a platform for restoring the dignity of the marginalized and the oppressed, and for giving them a voice that would otherwise be suppressed by traditional power structures. When a government seeks to suppress information, digital advocacy provides a lifeline for truth-telling.

In countries where there are conflicts, digital advocacy ensures that the suppression of human rights cannot go unnoticed, as shown in the #StandWithUkraine movement that used viral stories, pictures, and videos to mobilize outrage and solidarity for Ukraine. Although it cannot be said that such actions and movements make a difference in policy, they provide a form of visibility that ensures that the actions of the government are not hidden, and that there is a record of what transpired, a way of saying that human rights abuses cannot and should not be done in secret.

Naturally, digital activism is not without risks. Falcone’s study cautions against the vulnerability of increased online presence, such as surveillance, harassment, and algorithmic throttling. Moreover, it is vital to develop digital literacy to combat misinformation and engage in ethical online behavior, as discussed by Kulesza. However, it is essential to realize the need to develop digital security measures rather than turning away from digital activism.

It is, therefore, important to realize that digital activism, despite all the risks and shortcomings, is a force to be reckoned with. In a world where speaking out can literally mean giving one’s life, where journalists are jailed, and where people are silenced, social media becomes a shield against such oppression. Digital activism is a force that gives voice to those whom governments seek to silence the most. Moreover, it is a means of recording atrocities committed against humanity and rallying global support from college campuses to international organizations.

Free speech is one of the most important human rights. Without it, all other rights are threatened. With the rising levels of oppression around the world, it is the duty of students, teachers, and global citizens to engage in critical and ethical digital activism. The tools are in our hands. The question is whether we will use it to defend those whose voices are silenced because they cannot speak freely.