Social media and disability rights activism: Is online communication finally providing

‘liberating technology’?

Guest Presenter:

Beth Haller, Ph.D., Department of Mass Communication and Communication

Studies, Towson University, USA

Fulbright Specialist, Feb. 2015

bhaller@towson.edu

Web 1.0

Social media benefits for people with certain impairments

Deaf actress Marlee Matlin: “In Twitter there were no barriers.”

Pinterest use by people with aphasia

Social media activism generally

• Using social media to coordinate group gatherings

• Assembling organized numbers of people

• Using social media to warn like-minded people about those who are against the group’s activist stance

• Real time updates allows a group to adjust to any actions against it

• Getting messages to people not directly involved but still interested in the activism

• Enlist support and/or coverage from the news media and others around the world

Activists harness social media because that’s where people get their news

Pros & cons of social media news

Why Facebook matters to people with disability

Why New Mobility readers are using Facebook

National ADAPT leverages Twitter

ADAPT Twitter feed posts

• Pictures from ADAPT protestors and others• Information about those arrested.• Links to any media coverage of protests.• Information so someone who wanted to

participate but couldn’t be in DC could follow along.

• People not in DC could even become active by calling the federal legislator in charge of the budget proposing the cuts via the phone # ADAPT tweeted.

Tweets build a cross-disability community

A May 3, 2011 tweet said: “Remember that ADAPT fights for all disabilities: physical, dd, psychiatric, blind, deaf, autism, MCS, everyone. That is why we are here.”

ADAPT protest video makes it onto CNN web page as iReport

ADAPT Minnesota continues the message

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) YouTube channel

Its YouTube channel has:

• Training videos, such as information helping parents understand the special education process and how to advocate for their disabled child

• Disability rights history: “The Power of 504,” a short documentary video about the 1977 civil rights demonstration by people with disabilities that resulted in the first Federal Civil Rights Law protecting people with disabilities.

Social media use during natural disasters: Nick & Alejandra

Alejandra’s Facebook post about their situation

Little Free Radical blog

Blog article that told Nick’s story

Nick’s thank you on Facebook

Boston’s 90.9 WBUR Tumblr about Nick

Neighborhood news source about Sandy & people with disabilities

Commuter newspaper covers the issue

NPR Talk of the Nation story about Sandy’s impact on people with disabilities

Science show NOVA focuses on the people affected by Sandy

Disability media thoroughly covers Hurricane Sandy

Inaccessible shelters in NYC(Photos from 2011 from Hurricane Irene but nothing had changed for Hurricane Sandy.)

NY disability activist Mike Volkman says:

“What we are doing now with Facebook really shows the true potential of what the Internet can do to transform our society. We are seeing changes that rival historically the invention of the printing press.”

Social media is the way forward for disability activism