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Digital Activism in Canada refers to the form of activism in Canada that primarily takes place online for the purpose of social and political action. The conventional form of activism in demonstrations and rallies are no longer the leading methods of activism. New mediums in social made and the Internet have established a strong presence in activism to change how people protest. Modern technological infrastructure allows groups of people to connect with one another through the Internet, exchange information and take part in political movements. The Internet provides Canadians with the option of a new platform to debate social and political matters.

Transition to Digital Activism

Abortion Caravan

There have been several arguments made for past activism and how successful it was in earlier times. In 1970 for example, an Abortion Caravan travelled from Vancouver to Ottawa to demand legal abortion. Almost 500 women from across Canada joined the movement and chained themselves to the parliamentary gallery in the House of Commons. This abortion movement helped change the laws surrounding Abortion and was determined to be a successful movement. By marching across Canada and spreading the word, the Abortion Caravan was able to achieve what they had hoped for. The Abortion Caravan formed the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, which is a nation-wide pro-choice group fighting for the safeguard of abortion rights.

Although online activism has a spatial advantage, pro-choice offline events are still taking place in Canada. Many citizens continue to take part in rallies and organize events to spread the movement they are fighting for. Several rallies continue to take place in major cities like Toronto and Ottawa, where most political events take place. Advocates for digital activism argue that contemporary form of activism has dismantled the old form of activism. However, this notion can be challenged as seen through the major public rallies that still take place on Parliament Hill. Old form of activism has, however, paved a path for digital activism. The strategies have moved online and the successes are determined to increase since the Internet reaches more citizens across Canada.

Reachability

Thorough findings propose that the Internet will improve the mobilization and communication efforts of activists groups in Canada. Reports that make this claim focus on two areas: social media affordances and rates of adoption. It is argued that the rise of social media connects more people around the world virtually. People from different areas of the world connect and share information at a rapid pace. Proponents of internet activism suggest the social media model enhances activism in three different ways: feedback engagement, increases outreach efforts, and speeds up communication.

Internet activism supporters make the argument that the Internet provides activists with affordability and accessibility. For example, the Abortion Caravan may have not been needed if social media and the Web 2.0 were in place. The movement would take place online and accessibility would allow more Canadians, especially women, to join the movement without having to drive across the country.

In a political and social context, advocacy groups have also shifted how they advocate their specific stance or viewpoint on issues. In one study however, it is discussed how there is a lack of information to understand certain advocacy organization and their use of mainstream media to advocate their stance. This occurs because very little studies focus on movements that do not make a presence on a national level. However, for those movements that have been studied, there is a strong presence of Internet use for advocacy

Grassroots activism

Grassroots Activism refers to a group of people who have a strong stance on the issue they are actively trying to campaign. These issues can be political, social and even economical. This form of activism has developed into a more progressive form of activism, as it has redefined the scope and meaning of activism. Proponents of grassroots activism have claimed that this form of activism has shifted from a local and regional to a national level by crossing barriers that hindered its reachability. Today’s activists are thinking on a global scale; however, they are acting on a local level. This is feasible through social media and the Web 2.0 that interconnects people with similar standpoints on Canadian and non-Canadian issues.

Slacktivism to Activism

The history of digital activism in Canada is not without its opponents who oppose the efficiency of digital activism. Critics of digital activism accept that social networking sites, microblogging services and content sharing websites have introduced activism to a wider scale operation for participation. Online applications like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube only introduce the movements. The efficiency of digital activism is still, however, challenged by critics. Slacktivism has divided scholars into two categories: those who favour digital activism and those who do not.

Slacktivism challenges digital activism by suggesting there is no meaning left in these movements as alleged supporters are not aware of the benefits of these movements they follow. Canadians join these social movements using social media for various reasons: accessibility and efficiency, satisfaction of joining movements and observing fellow peer support on social media. The main concern for critics of digital activism is that alleged supporters may follow a movement at first; however, they do not engage frequently beyond their initial acceptance of the movement. The underlying principle behind digital activism is that it should engage more citizens across Canada; however, efficiency is questionable due to slacktivism. Slacktivism will be further discussed under the criticism portion of this article.

Specific Examples

There have been many significant events that coincide with digital activism in Canada. Since the up rise of digital activism, several events have transpired over the Internet and social media which have changed the dynamic of activism. Whether these events have taken place on blogging websites (Twitter) or content sharing networks (YouTube), digital activism has made a spatial impact.

Idle No More

One of the more substantial digital activist movements is the Idle No More hashtag movement. This is a Canadian activist movement that launched in November 2012 and is still active. The movement started when a law student at University of Manitoba and Indigenous activist had informed Canadians in Edmonton about how the repercussions of a bill would negatively effect Aboriginal people. Idle No More is a movement for indigenous sovereignty and rights. However, as one reporter notes, #IdleNoMore movement is no longer only a Canadian movement. Instead, activists from all over the world are forming rallies to gain more attention for the movement that will achieve its goals. The hashtag movement spread from a domestic scale to an international level at a rapid pace.

The national movement, however, did not take place without controversy over gender roles. An analysis illustrates that majority of the tweets, using #IdleNoMore, were coming from female supporters. However, the national and international debate over the issue was primarily being discussed by males. The social movement took place through a diversity of voices that had a lot to say about the issue.

The Indigenous community has been protesting for several years; however, their protest never made it to such a high level. The hashtag #IdleNoMore allowed them to voice their demands on a global scale. The distinction between traditional and online media is evident in how the message is spread across a national vs international region. Social media, more specifically Twitter, has a key role in the upbringing of the hashtag movement in terms of consuming this knowledge. However, it also a plays a key role in shaping and sharing expressions of all supporters of the campaign. The Idle No More movement started off as a small movement located in Edmonton, Alberta. However, the active movement is now on an international scale due to the role of social media. This is just one of the movements that took off due to social media. However, there are several others that used other online platforms for the purpose of digital activism.

Bill C-30

There have been several other tactics Canadian activists have used to raise the issues they are fighting for. The online surveillance or warrantless wire tapping bill, formerly known as the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act (Bill C-30), is a bill that would have stripped Canadians of their right to privacy. This bill would have invaded the lives of several citizens as the government of Canada would have the right to surveillance capabilities of all citizens. However, in 2012, Openmedia.ca (a Canadian advocacy group) led a movement to stop the Canadian government from passing the bill. Some of the tactics to prevent the bill were videos on YouTube, Twitter attacks, and petitions online signed by thousands of Canadians. The exact reason how the bill was stopped is still unclear. However, in February of 2013, Rob Nicholson (The Justice Minister) stated that the concerns of Canadian activists were heard and that the bill would not proceed.

Bill C-30 was one of the more important topics on Openmedia.ca for several weeks. As of February, 2012, the petition for Stop Online Spying had reached 100, 000 signatures and had become Canada’s largest online petition ever. Proponents for digital activism would argue that this is a positive sign for online activism. Bill C-30 was a large issue in Canada that had possibly been resolved due to the inter-connection between Canadian citizens. It was argued by Openmedia.ca writers that the 21st century has shifted towards an era of citizen participation. Petitions made available online give more Canadians access through the Internet.

Petition Online Canada

Another unconventional example of digital activism in Canada is the website activism.com, which is a platform to host your petition online. This platform allows Canadians, with Internet access, to introduce the social or political issues they are fighting for. The website believes that change can come through a collective action and it is important to share ideas with other citizens.

The website, however, does have its ground rules which include a code of conduct. This code declares that there should be principles of trust, honesty, transparency, privacy, fairness, and more. The website advocates for freedom of sharing and collectively making an effort to help bring change in Canada. Activism.com believes that online petitions will make a difference for citizens who have similar issues they are looking to fight.

Types of Digital Activism

There are various types of digital activism that takes place in Canada and there is a claim that Internet activism is divided into three categories. Action or reaction, awareness or advocacy, and organization or mobilization. Digital activism is a wide ranging form of activism as there are multiple platforms that could be used to start a movement.

Hashtag Activism

One recent form of activism is the use of hashtag activism. By using social media hashtag activism allows the activism to reach a global level. Listed under examples, it is shown that the Idle No More hashtag movement was a substantial event. Twitter plays a key role in hashtag activism as the hashtag is a feature of the social media application. The hashtag has also been commonly used on the platform since Twitter first launched hashtags in 2007.

For several people outside of the communication medium, Twitter is just another application that allows people to connect with one another. However, twitter creates the ability to connect people around the world through their web application. With the example of the Idle No More hashtag, this did not just trend in Canada. It reached several other countries around the world as well. This movement introduced a new platform to build other movements where people with similar beliefs can come together.

Hashtag activism informs and educates the public on advocacy events while establishing continual attention on a topic. The hashtag allows people all over the world to connect. This allows people living in different parts of the world to absorb and understand the information and movements taking place in Canada.

Some key features of the hashtag include: they are central to organizing information on Twitter, they organize discussion around specific events, and they are visible through Twitter, Google and more. These features allow political or social movements in Canada to broaden their activist movement. It is tough to say how much success hashtag activism brings; however, the hashtag is a good resource to create a community of people who have similar stances on issues. Hashtag activism provides people with an introduction to the movement as social media is considered mainstream media today.

Social Media

Social media has been an essential element for digital activism in Canada and the movements that grow because of social media. Social media is especially larger in the demographics that include millennials. It helps to contribute to the reconceptualization of political and social movements. As social media grows, more people are becoming aware of movements taking place around Canada. Several scholars have given more consideration to the informal and formal displays of engagement and communication with specific media like Twitter.

There are other sources of digital activism; however, social media is one of the bigger sources of media. Two of the larger social networking services are considered to be: Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging website that creates communities internally within the social media domain. Every user has the opportunity to send a tweet consisting of 280 characters, up from 140. Additionally, Twitter allows users to use and follow hashtags to keep up with current events or events that interest the individual user.

Facebook

The social networking service is considered to operate as an information hub. Facebook users have, what is called, “newsfeeds” to track events and stay up to date about the events going on around them. Facebook also provides users with the opportunity to create groups and join them. For example, a social movement taking place in a small town in Canada can recruit more people to join the movement by sharing the page. Users who join these groups can receive up to date information that they may not be able to receive elsewhere. This provides users with the opportunity to engage in political and social movement that they would not be able to without the accessibility social media offers. Additionally, family and friends are able to share news stories and posts onto their timeline for their Facebook friends to see. This provides all Facebook users to with accessibility of these movements and stories.

Criticism

Digital Activism in Canada has also faced much criticism from opponents of online activism. Critics have argued the notion that digital activism provides people in Canada with greater accessibility and reachability. Critics have also argued that digital activism is not as efficient as proclaimed by advocates of online activism.

Digital Divide

Digital divide refers to the gap between those who have good quality access to digital information and those with poor quality access. Critics of digital activism claim that Canada’s resources are useful in urban areas; however, access in rural areas is still an issue. Canada is very large geographically and many small towns do not have the resources that are capable of withstanding today’s technologies. There is a gap between those who can participate online and those who cannot. Some groups are disadvantaged by the lack of infrastructure that is available in Canada. This includes those living in the global north and small towns. The digital divide becomes a shortcoming of digital activism due to the limitation in accessibility of information.

Dangerous Tactics

Steven Murdoch, a security researcher at University College London, introduces and argues how some of the tactics appropriated by digital activists have also been used to interrupt communication. Murdoch argues that some digital activists have used the following tactics in their fight for activism, which has lead to dangerous activity. Some of the tactics include: blocking access, attacking critical infrastructure, misusing information, organizing malicious activity, and destroying virtual property. For Murdoch, he believes some activists go to extreme measures to block access by crashing website servers. Additionally, he believes that the incidents in the past show why digital activism does more harm than it does good.

In Canada, with the example of the 2010 G20 Toronto Summit, news media were responsible for how they framed the stories that made headlines. Aziz Douai argues how social media have the ability to change how stories or activist’s movement are perceived. Critics argue that the misuse of information and the misrepresentation of information becomes an issue that is associated with digital activism. There is growth in participation by Canadian citizens; however, the reliability of information made available is still questionable by critics of digital activism.

Slacktivism

According to one source, with digital activism there is no real effect on social change and instead it hurts foreseeable civic actions. The term slacktivism comes from the combination of slacker and activism. In addition, the purpose behind slacktivism is that it is considered a low cost and risk activity through social media, where the purpose solely lies on the satisfaction of the participant. Slacktivism takes place on social media on numerous occasions, for example, when a Facebook user likes a post to show their support, sharing videos onto their news feed, or adding a filter to their profile page.

Arguments are made that there is a lack of inconsistency with digital activism; once people are done liking a post they rarely do more to keep up with the movement. For a country like Canada that has great access to the Internet, a lot of users in urban cities are aware of these issues. However, they do not know much about the details of the issue and why it is important. For several critics, they agree that digital activism spreads around at a fast pace; however, the efficiency is still questionable.