Role of social media in the modern reparations movement - Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]

{{Short description|How digital platforms have shaped the advocacy for reparations in the 21st century}}

{{Short description|How digital platforms have shaped the advocacy for reparations in the 21st century}}

{{Essay-like|date=July 2025}}

'''The role of social media in the modern reparations movement ''' refers to the increasing use of digital platforms such as [[Twitter]], Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube to advocate for reparative justice related to slavery, colonialism, and racial discrimination. Social media has enabled grassroots movements, activists, and diaspora communities to raise awareness, mobilize public opinion, and pressure institutions and governments to address historical injustices. Hashtags like #ReparationsNow and #JusticeForSlavery have connected local struggles to global audiences, while viral campaigns have amplified demands for systemic change. Scholars and human rights organizations have highlighted the role of digital activism in shaping both the narrative and the political momentum of reparations-related discourse in the 21st century<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mayorga |first=Edgar |title=Social Media and Reparations: The New Tools of Decolonial Advocacy |journal=Media, Culture & Society |volume=44 |issue=5 |year=2022 |pages=765–781}}{{cite web |title=How TikTok is shaping the Black reparations movement |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/19/tiktok-black-reparations-movement |work=The Guardian |date=19 June 2023 |access-date=2025-07-16}}{{cite report |title=Social Media and Historical Justice Campaigns |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/social-media-and-historical-justice-campaigns/ |publisher=Brookings Institution |date=2022 |access-date=2025-07-16}}</ref>

'''The role of social media in the modern reparations movement ''' refers to the increasing use of digital platforms such as [[Twitter]], Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube to advocate for reparative justice related to slavery, colonialism, and racial discrimination. Social media has enabled grassroots movements, activists, and diaspora communities to raise awareness, mobilize public opinion, and pressure institutions and governments to address historical injustices. Hashtags like #ReparationsNow and #JusticeForSlavery have connected local struggles to global audiences, while viral campaigns have amplified demands for systemic change. Scholars and human rights organizations have highlighted the role of digital activism in shaping both the narrative and the political momentum of reparations-related discourse in the 21st century<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mayorga |first=Edgar |title=Social Media and Reparations: The New Tools of Decolonial Advocacy |journal=Media, Culture & Society |volume=44 |issue=5 |year=2022 |pages=765–781}}{{cite web |title=How TikTok is shaping the Black reparations movement |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/19/tiktok-black-reparations-movement |work=The Guardian |date=19 June 2023 |access-date=2025-07-16}}{{cite report |title=Social Media and Historical Justice Campaigns |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/social-media-and-historical-justice-campaigns/ |publisher=Brookings Institution |date=2022 |access-date=2025-07-16}}</ref>