All Eyes on Rafah

A picture was reposted almost 50 million times last week. It’s an image of endless refugee tents outside Gaza. It was reposted by various celebrities, some of whom have Middle-Eastern heritage. Except the image is a fake.

We live in an age where several factors come together. We have a strong sense of justice, and of speaking truth to power. We live in a complex world, and we have information overload as to what is happening in our world. Our data points about this world come to us via social media, with algorithms lurking in the background feeding us they slant on stories we are prone to believe. Social media users desire to look like justice warriors – perhaps to get likes. News has become click bait for advertising. And we trust our intuition.

Those factors can come together in a dangerous mix. We see an image, read 140 characters, experience a visceral response, and decide there is an injustice we need to rile against, so we repost the story. Reposting an image is a thing.

Gitaanjali Nair, writing in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald, notes “There’s a running joke that older generations fall victim to online scams and misinformation, but the joke’s on us now. We need to do more than just scroll.” Her Article is entitled Sharing Images on Social Media isn’t Activism. My generation is fooling itself.

And she is right. In fact, there is a new word for this performative activism – it is called ‘slacktivism’. Slacktivism is the idea that you have been an activist by simply retweeting or signing an online petition. Reposting may raise awareness, but slacktivism is problematic.

It makes no real difference on the ground. It gives us a sense we have done something, when we haven’t. This can feel self-justifying, and hollow, and guilt inducing – all at the same time. It simplifies complex issues. It divides people into crude camps. It stifles the nuanced debate required to address complex problems.

Jesus gets down and dirty, and even dies for others.