Do Celebrities Have a Responsibility to Participate in Online Political Discourse?
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The recent events in Israel and Palestine have generated increased political discourse on social media, and whilst many celebrities and influencers have taken to the internet with their thoughts on the situation, others have chosen to remain silent. We’ve seen this happen many times, from the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 to the rise of the global pandemic. To some, speaking out on political situations such as these, seems like a responsibility, whilst others stay silent out of fear or lack of information. Do beauty influencers or Hollywood actors really need to speak out on global issues? I think that they do, and here’s why.
There is no denying that Gen Z is an extremely social media-oriented generation, and many young people’s source of information on political topics comes from social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. We’ve all seen the many infographics on various topics shared throughout Instagram, and countless influencers post videos talking about global issues. While it might seem a little trivial to suggest that influencers with no formal political education should continue to speak out and spread awareness on global events, the effect that this can have on young people is monumental.
The one downside that arises from pressuring celebrities and influencers to share their opinions on political discourse is the spread of misinformation. Many who share infographics on social media platforms do not take the time to fact-check information. This contributes to the spread of false information which can be harmful in many ways. Take for example, Jamie Lee Curtis who mistakenly shared a picture of Palestinian children in her post showing support for Israel after the events of October 7th, and Justin Bieber posting a story on Instagram saying ‘Praying for Israel’ over a photo of the destruction in Gaza caused by Israeli airstrikes. These are only some of the examples of blatant misinformation being spread by highly influential people. Bieber alone has 292 million followers on Instagram, many of them young people, who look up to celebrities for information and guidance. It seems like in cases such as these, those who are uninformed are better off staying silent.
However, silence comes at a cost. I’m not saying that we should require influencers and celebrities to provide long, educational commentaries on the subject, but the platform that comes with being a celebrity has the potential to be used for great good. Even for someone who has less than a tenth of Beiber’s following, the impact that a link to donation sites or information on charities could make would be astounding. This doesn’t require much background political knowledge and is such a small act with extremely beneficial consequences, so could hardly be seen as a burden for the influencer. It almost seems wrong for someone with such a platform to ignore the power that their words could have and choose to stay silent on issues, due to not wanting to pick a side or out of fear of losing followers or jobs.
In such an extreme global situation as the current conflict in the Middle East where there are extremely high numbers of civilian casualties, I argue that spreading awareness to their followers and using their platform in a positive way is the least someone could do. And whilst we cannot oblige people to do so, I would hope that those celebrities and influencers come to realise just how influential they can be to people all over the world and just how important their words can be.