Blog Reveal Presentation

 With little censorship and the option of anonymous authorship, the internet has provided itself a novel method of exercising the right to free speech in the United States. The first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press” (law.cornell.edu). 

Not only does this apply to traditional media such as books and newspapers, but this amendment has stayed consistent with the ebbs and flows of media sources as internet usage became increasingly popular since the 1980s. This new media  platform where any information is at the access of your fingertips is an example of exercising these first amendment freedoms specifically because there is no government censorship of news media. While there is certainly inaccurate news floating around on the internet, seeking out reliable news is easier, faster, and keeps transparency between political leaders and the American public- the good, bad, and the ugly are exposed online, and nothing is truly private.  

Blogging and the internet have dramatically increased the spread of information and the amount of content available to people on specific topics. If Martin Luther King had access to blogging and the internet in his day, I think that he would use it to inform people about the violent acts of racism occurring and the unfiltered prejudice African Americans were experiencing. I think this could have changed the civil rights movement because there would be more awareness about what African Americans were experiencing, in comparison to the racism Americans experienced that largely went unnoticed or unheard in the media during King’s lifetime. 

(britannica.com)

The most noticeable way this could have changed the civil rights movement is because blogging gives everyone a space to voice their own opinion. By empowering people with an unfiltered platform of free speech, the movement would have been stronger with the increase of education about progressive ideologies and goals for African American progress, not only from leaders in the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King but from everyday people who did not have a voice before besides protesting. 

(cnn.com)

The flip side of this is that there have been more violence. Racist people would certainly use the content in African Americans' blogs against them and as a reason for hate crimes. There would be two effects of having access to blogging and the internet during the civil rights movement: an increase in educational and progressive material and an increase in backlash and hate from racist people. However, the option of anonymous authorship could protect African American bloggers from receiving hate personally and outside of the  internet for the content of their posts.

 The most influential way that the internet and blogging perpetuate social movements is by creating platforms where people can campaign together and feel like they are parts of a community, such as getting to interact with other readers and the author on the posts. Blogs are also very personal and can present information in an educational and meaningful way that advocates for social movements. 

The other benefit of blogs having the potential to create the feeling of a community is that it strengthens the group as a whole, and brings people together when they get to have conversations and hear about other people’s opinions and experiences when they are all passionate about a social movement. 

The internet has and can immensely impact social movements. Aside from blogging, social media is becoming an increasingly powerful tool in social movements. People can share posts to educate each other and post to support others. However, there are instances where the posts shared are inaccurate and false information spreads easily.

 Currently, the internet provides easy access to a variety of content, but censorship on private websites and apps, specifically social media, has proven itself to be controversial. While blogging and increasing information through the internet could create advocacy for a new amendment or expose how the constitution is being abused, internet censorship by the government is likely to happen soon and will reflect the evolution of constitutional law. For example, if the government bans a news source for reported fake news, then they just violated the first amendment by limiting the freedom of the press. However, because of how used people are to censorship on most of the media platforms they use, they might not blink an eye at it. 

While blogging and the internet are powerful tools, the internet is not much different from other news sources such as television, newspaper, or radio, and allowing government censorship in one area of news media opens the door for censorship happening across all areas of news media. This can either go unnoticed or people on the internet, including bloggers and social media platforms, could be wary of censorship and keep their audience educated about it.

One of the hardest things was keeping up with my posts, but this was one of the most engaging classes I have taken this semester, and I enjoyed it because writing a blog is a unique and impactful way to use your voice to exercise your first amendment right of free speech. 

To future students, I would recommend for them to take notes and keep up with their blog posts.

 

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/us/civil-rights-protests-then-now/index.html