Official Blog Post#2

PETA uses social media in a very aggressive manner. A lot of what is generally known about this organization reflects its use of sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. When people hear “PETA,” they tend to think of slap-in-the-face ad campaigns like the shocking animal treatment videos PETA loves to publicize. This comes from PETA’s heavy-handed, attention-grabbing methods such as shocking memes, photos, and video. Another way PETA is seen by the general public is scientifically incorrect, that is, using false information to gain followers and to scare people into choosing the vegan lifestyle.

I like to think of much of PETA’s campaigns as scare tactics. A lot of it seems to point the finger; and a lot of times, people seem to have negative reactions to this type of circulation method. Another famous campaign of PETA's is the "I'd Rather Go Naked" one, feautring all sorts of nearly-nude celebrities. This campaign leaves me scartching my head and thinking, Why?

However, not all of PETA’s social network sites focus on the just the negative things or naked celebreities. The Tumblr site, for example, is more geared towards detailing how to live a vegan, animal-cruelty-free lifestyle by including vegan recipes and fashion ideas. If members of PETA actually choose to adopt these lifestyle changes, then they step out of the realm of “slactivism,” as the new, digital form of activism had been called, as noted by Katya Andresen. “Slactivists take easy, social actions in support of a cause….[they] tend to get a bad rap: they lack real commitment, care only about self-satisfaction and don’t contribute to meaningful change” (Andresen). Adopting a new lifestyle is a way to actively support PETA’s animal-rights cause. But “slactivist” ways to support PETA abound as well, and these ways can actually make a difference, too. For example: petition-signers and locals in Alberta, Canada were able to rally under PETA’s banner and shut down a roadside menagerie where hundreds of animals lived in horrible conditions.

Malcom Gladwell believes that “the platforms of social media are built around weak ties…[which] seldom lead to high-risk activism” (Gladwell). Gladwell seems to think that activism only counts if it is high risk, if it involves “spending a summer being chased by armed men in pickup trucks” (Gladwell). But let’s be real here. The strength PETA likes to harness—and harnesses most efficiently—is the strength of numbers. According to Gladwell, everyone who did not run into the decrepit Canadian menagerie and bludgeon the owners with clubs did not participate in what he sees as “the right” form of activism. PETA could have organized this, but it did not. PETA succeeded in shutting down the menagerie without resorting to the risky activism Gladwell praises so highly. PETA used slactivists to successfully promote its animal rights goal, and shut down a place that was harming animals. Clearly, Gladwell is wrong—slactivism gets things done. Not everyone has to risk life and limb for the cause they want to support. Some revolutions simply cannot be won through Gladwell’s type of activism.

I do partly agree with Gladwell that some causes need risky, offline support; however, social networks are just tools. A club is a tool, a protest sign is a tool, one’s body is a tool. It is up to the rebels to use these tools as they will. Leo Mirani states that “Gladwell ignores the true significance of social media, which lies in their ability to rapidly spread information about alternative points of view that might otherwise never reach a large audience” (Mirani). 

Call me forward-thinking, but I completely agree with Mirani. 

PETA, for example, may promote “facts” that are actually not completely true—but at least they are using SM to allow people to see that there is a problem. When battling corporations such as zoos and product-testing companies, PETA needs to rely on first alerting people of the problem, then getting the numbers to boycott or petition against these organizations. Its methods may not always be the most effective, but PETA uses both activism and slactivism to promote animal rights around the world.