Media Activism and Cyber Activism - Case Study Example

ACTIVISM McCaughey and Ayers define Cyberactivism also called internet activism is an internet based communication and socializing means (25). Cyberactivism electronic advocacy, digital activism, e-campaigning can cause a revolution in case of modern discourse. Generally, media activism is an activism tool that offers a broad range activism through the use of communication technologies and media for political and the social movement. Activism refers to a policy of campaigning vigorously in order to bring a social or a political change to a country (McCaughey and Ayers 117). Media activism and cyber activism are healthy in the society because of their major role of exposing vice in the society and enhancing democracy. Media activism and cyber activism have contributed significantly to the prevention of AIDS. AIDS activism began in the United States of America in the late nineteen eighties’; the movement was right because the government was not keen on providing adequate support and medication that would boost the immunity of the victims (Murphy & Poirier 107-110). Media activism promotes the actors and actress in showcasing their performance on stage. Some of the works have been filmed thus supporting the activist work by showing how victims of AIDS are suffering and what should be done (Murphy & Poirier 107). A case example of an AIDS activist is Gregg Bordowitz, who started his career at the school of visual arts (Bordowitz, Meyer, and Crimp 43). Gregg tested positive for AIDS and because of this condition, he together with others formed the Damned Interfering Video Activist (DIVA) and he was determined to document protests that helped promote the AIDS movement in America. Bordowitz also produced a documentary called the Fast Trip, Long Drop that showcased the reaction of the public to the scourge and the representation of the AIDS pandemic as a whole as a result, the AIDS campaign did an excellent job as the government of the day so the need of taking preventive measures to curb the disease (Bordowitz, Meyer, and Crimp 43-8). Aids are a world pandemic that affects every nation of the world Murphy (Murphy & Poirier 107). It’s a sexually transmitted disease that has spread widely and, for this reason, a campaign was launched online on ways to control the disease. Media and cyber activism came as the result of many people suffering and being infected with the illness. AIDS activism arose because of the rising outcry in which expanded needs; pressures and challenges arose from the need to do sensitization (Miller & James 92). Another factor for media activism was to professionalize the media and make it a viable source of information. In lieu of this, the media which includes the print media and the internet became a matter of vital information. Through the activism, the issues relevant to fight against AIDS are relevantly dealt with and institutionalization of the fight against AIDS (Meikle & Graham 368-70). WikiLeaks is a journalism global non-profit making organization that releases secret information (Leigh & Luke 45). It was established in 2006, and it has so far published confidential information about various countries of the world from Corruption and major crimes. For this reason, the website is keeping various governments in check. Due to this reason, various governments have been accused by different countries of releasing vital information which compromises the security of some countries. For example, the FBI was devastated by what they termed as secret cables that are to no good. WikiLeaks publishes information from anonymous sources. The information is released by what is termed as cyber activism. The website has published secret cables that have made headlines in many countries (Sifry & Micah 69-72). A case example is the release of a documentation of the report of Afghanistan war which showed the holdings and equipment expenditures of the war. Furthermore, a report on corruption regarding Kenya was also published. The WikiLeaks have also given out reports of secret files on the Guantanamo Bay detention camps whereby seven hundred and seventy-nine files relating to prisoners were released. The America states Department diplomatic “cables” was also released by the WikiLeaks, which became public. The US government was not impressed by how the events were unfolding; however, this shows how far the level of media activism and cyber activism has gone. The cyberactivism is right for the citizens of these countries and helps release of the necessary information to the public. The release of information of the war in Afghanistan and the detentions in Guantanamo Bay shows the excesses of governments and its release through activism is a demonstration of how the activist are more concerned about the accountability and transparency of various governments. The Yes Men campaign is a media campaign carried by a duo activist together with a network of supporters (Hynes, Sharpe, and Fagan 108). The Yes Men have produced three films which they use to pass the information. The films which they have produced are; The Yes Men Are Revolting. The Yes Men Fix the World and The Yes Men. The Yes Men usually create fake websites which they intend to proof. The Yes Men were so dedicated to the task and in that, they were invited to conferences to showcase their work. They are so dedicated that their pranksters appear to be real. Their works have, therefore, advanced for an interview and discuss their success in the media industry. Their role is so great that they are in most cases envied in their tasks. Hence, they have promoted the ways human beings behave and how they ought to behave in certain circumstances. Outright humor disclosed by these men has made them popular across the various quotas. Their demonstration of maturity in a broader perspective have promoted the media activism and through cyber activism. Significant strides have been made in ensuring that their message is well captured, and positive changes are brought fought in a good way. Through their message of humor, they help bring the point home by using the real life examples (Hynes, Sharpe, and Fagan 111-3). Their message helps the community by teaching them good morals. I like their way of demonstration because it’s so emphatic and the way the information is given out. Ricardo Dominguez started a cyber-activism group whose members were Carmin Karasic, Stefan Wray, and Brett Stalbaum (Fusco 151-3). The members are collectively called the Electronic Disturbance Theater (EDT). The members use EDT like the American Civil Rights Movement from where they staged their grievances. The use of computer software programs is opened, which showcase their views ranging from military actions of the U.S. soldiers in Iraq and anti-propagandist (Kaplan, Loyer, and Daniels 399-402). The work began by mobilizing small networks who could act in solidarity with them by staging sit-ins on-line and by their approval in allowing a huge presence in digital actions (Fusco 153-6). The government sees these demonstrations as a threat and, as a result, acts as a tool of check and balance towards the matter. The FloodNet is a digital media that uses modern technology that relies on the internet (Latham 21-4). The group primary objective is to use nonviolent means to show their displeasure on a number of issues. A case example is the Zapatista rebels in the state of Chiapas in Mexico which was supported by this group. The Electronic Disturbance Theater uses both the Internet and email to promote their work. The primary tool that FloodNet used is a computer based program which was created by EDT members who are Brett Stalbaum and Carmin Karasic. The FloodNet works in a way that the program could just reload a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) several times that would effectively slow the website and network server down, in case the number of demonstrators are to join in the sit-in at the same time. The Electronic Disturbance Theater is first to execute the FloodNet software on what is called the dress rehearsal and from that point forward and they would attack their primary target (Richardson 102-4). The FloodNet idea was derived from the basic concepts of street theatre practices, protests, and political rallies which are fundamental issues from the local scenes but the group presented it in a much larger international stage due to the facilitation they got from the non-digital groups as well as the macro networks they had developed over time. The aim of EDT was to see to it that the voices of Zapatista Army of National Liberation were heard (Latham 25-7). And they were heard. One of the most remarkable protests that they staged came as a result of the Acteal Massacre where forty-five people were massacred in a Catholic church by a paramilitary squad which was sponsored by the government (Fusco 71). A public outcry emerged as soon as the perpetrators of the crimes were let free. This led to what came to be referred to as the Electronic Civil Disobedience which was against the Mexican Government, which they used to air their grievances openly (Fusco 71-2). A FloodNet program in support of those affected was opened to get the names of those murdered (Richardson 101-2). In a while, their names were posted on the internet which led to a public outcry. By the use of cyber activism, the human rights can use nonviolent means which can be viewed from the world and most importantly, they are not controlled by the government. Therefore, activism by FloodNet gave a voice to the voiceless citizens of Jamaica. An Anonymous is an international activism website that is usually referred to as an internet gathering with a structure that is decentralized and which operates on ideas and not on directives (Pendergrass 15). The group is famous as a result of well-publicized stunts like the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on government, corporate and religious websites. The site began in two thousand and three with an aim of representing the offline and online communities simultaneously that existed as a digitized platform, as well as an anarchic. The members of the group usually wear a Guy Fawkes mask that differentiates them from other people. The group started in the form of a decentralized online community with their goal focused on the entertainment industry (Hadden, and Sidney 357). However, 2008, it began what was referred to as the project chanology in which a series of pranks, hacks and protests were made targeting the Church of Scientology. Subsequently, Anonymous started engaging itself in collaborative activism where protests are made to air their grievances. Those aligned to anonymous undertakes protests to demonstrate against anti-digital piracy where they campaign by use of motion pictures (Pendergrass 17-20). Using cyber activism, Anonymous publicly declared support for the occupy wall street movement and the WikiLeaks as well Operation Tunisia by encouraging Tunisians to use the internet in support of their actions. Anonymous also called Anons targets websites which are used for hosting child pornography (Hadden, and Sidney 360). The most significant stride of Anons is the hacking of “Lolita City” a child pornography site and their usernames who were one thousand, five hundred and eighty-nine. Furthermore, in two thousand and twelve, Anons leaked the names of child pornography site users in OpDarknetV2. In addition to that, Anons do another cyber activism like the Israel military operation in the Gaza Strip in which Anons hacked Israel’s websites with DDoS attacks. This occurred in response of Operation Pillar of Defense in November two thousand and twelve. Hence, Anonymous has been involved in whistleblowing through cyber activism which promotes citizen rights. In conclusion, this paper has provided an in-depth analysis of the media activism as well as cyber activism. The definitions of media and cyber activism through different seem to correlate by the way they have been used in our discussion. The cyber or rather internet activists have contributed a lot in promoting human welfare and ensure equality and good governance in our society. AIDS activism in art and film uses the arts and films of the affected and in our case Gregg, who was an AIDS activist, is used to demonstrate the works. He did his activism through the works of art and filming of his work and producing documentaries as part of his effort of campaigning against the disease (Hynes, Sharpe, and Fagan 119). In addition, our discussion also dwelled on Ricardo Dominguez participatory website-jamming (the FloodNet system), WikiLeaks, which is a website that does its activism by releasing secretive information to the public (Fusco 153-6). And lastly, we looked at Anonymous, which is the site of unknown individuals whose simple is the use of a mask. The group does its activism by supporting the interest groups through online means. For instance, they have supported many groups through online means like the “Occupy Wall Street” and “Operation Tunisia.” This activism is, therefore, good for our society has it exposes the social ills of the society, and it keeps those responsible in toes in ensuring that they fulfill the citizens’ obligations. The countries that are affected by our discussion on activism usually look for remedies for these ills thus promoting equity. Therefore, these activists change the way the governments conduct their business because of the impact they bring to the society. For instance, WikiLeaks exposure of corruption in Kenya government acted as a wake-up call to the Kenyan government to the fight against corruption. Hence, activism is good as it promotes equity, transparency, accountability and upholding of the rule of law by the parties. Works Cited Bordowitz, Gregg, James Meyer, and Douglas Crimp. The Aids Crisis Is Ridiculous and Other Writings (1986-2003). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2004. Print. Fusco, Coco. On-Line Simulations/ Real-Life Politics. The Drama Review 47.2 (2003): 151-162. Web. 28 March 2015. . Fusco, Coco. The Bodies That Were Not Ours: And Other Writings. London: Routledge, published in collaboration with inIVA, Institute of International Visual Arts, 2001. Print. Hadden, Jennifer, and Sidney Tarrow. "Spillover or spillout? The global justice movement in the United States after 9/11." Mobilization: An International Quarterly 12.4 (2007): 359-376. Hynes, Maria, Scott Sharpe, and Bob Fagan. "Laughing with the Yes Men: The politics of affirmation." Continuum 21.1 (2007): 107-121. Kaplan, Caren, Erik Loyer, and Ezra Claytan Daniels. "Precision Targets: GPS and the Militarization of Everyday Life." Canadian Journal of Communication 38.3 (2013): 397-420. ProQuest. 29 Mar. 2015 . Latham, Robert. "The Governance Of Visibility: Bodies, Information, And The Politics Of Anonymity Across The US-Mexico Borderlands." Alternatives: Global, Local, Political 39.1 (2014): 17-36.Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. Leigh, David, and Luke Harding. Wikileaks: inside Julian Assanges war on secrecy. PublicAffairs, 2011: 40-65. McCaughey, Martha, and Michael D. Ayers. Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print. Meikle, Graham. "Intercreativity: Mapping online activism." International handbook of internet research. Springer Netherlands, 363-377: 2010. Print. Miller, James L. Fluid exchanges: Artists and critics in the AIDS crisis. Univ of Toronto Pr, 1992: 80-120. Murphy, Timothy F., and Suzanne Poirier. "Writing AIDS: Gay literature, language, and analysis." (1997): 107-110 Pendergrass, William Stanley. What is Anonymous?: A case study of an information systems hacker activist collective movement. Robert Morris University, 2013: 8-20 Richardson, Joanne. Anarchitexts: A Subsol Anthology. New York: Autonomedia, 2003. Print. Sifry, Micah L. WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency. OR Books, 67-69: 2011. Read More