The most special feature of such events is their local character, despite which the case becomes extremely well-known all over the world. By the way, social media and general globalization mood are the factors of significant role for such consequences.
One of the relevant examples is the case of the terrorist attack on the Paris office of “Charlie Hebdo”, French weekly satirical magazine, because of which more than 10 people were killed, and many others were injured. Joachim Roncin, Frennch designer, who has become the author of the biggest hashtag of solidarity in history, recalls that he decided to adopt the font of the magazine, with white & black colors and a simple phrase "Je Suis Charlie" as something that he wrote just for him, since even not being a buyer of it, “Charlie Hebdo” was a part of his youth (Devichand, 2016). As the consequence of the one message, the world avalanche of the same photos and hashtags has taken place.
No doubt, this story is an example of social media activism, which has proven to be efficient and workable. It’s a due response to those, who use the collocation “Hashtag Activism” for the defining of ineffective, vaguely narcissistic Twitter do-gooding (Macdonald, 2015). No doubt, there in fact are various examples of participation in social media campaigns only as excuse for non-participation in real life events.
Nevertheless, it is normal, since social media is not the one and only way of changing the police, it is only the triggering tool for the global awareness, the first favorable environment for the mobilizing of people’ participation.
As Kakabadze and Uzoikina (2015) have pointed out, the Charlie’s message has found its response everywhere, creating the “global public, which has included mass assemblies, strong international movement in social media, uniting not only civil society and global NGO's, but also heads of states and international intergovernmental organizations”, consolidating the people both on street and virtual level.
This case has concerned everyone, since the human life, irrespective of his or her workplace, irrespective of the political views, is the priceless value, which cannot be violently ruined. Therefore, this media campaign has make me, an American, not an active supporter of Charlie Hebdo’s philosophy, feel like a global citizen, to whom the events in far France are not indifferent.
Indeed, this case is extremely significant in the context of media globalization, revealing its unlimited opportunities. In fact, today’s technical solutions are able to share the information with an unbelievably short period of time, erasing the difference between local and universal events, as data about both of them is equally available. As a result, such wave of social activism, which has happened with Charlie Hebdo, is strong enough to make an impact on the world, proving that people are connected not only within the one country, but within the global community.
Obviously, for such an effect social media activism should be supported with some practical actions. In the case in question, there were numerous demonstrations and rallies all over the Europe, USA and other parts of the world. Moreover, there was created a special phone application “Je suis Charlie” intended to help users around the world to show their solidarity, and as Kakabadze and Uzoikina (2015) have stated, 264 891 people downloaded it as the symbol of freedom of speech irrespective of beliefs, country and opinions, for simply stating where they stand on today's world map.
What is also especially significant in Charlie Hebdo’s case, is the discussion on actual issues all over the world. Namely, apart from hashtags #jesuischarlie, there were waves of other messages, including opposite ones as well as those, which drew the attention towards other relevant global issues. To my mind, it is another important side of media globalization. Since it is not necessary for globalization to unify all the points of view, it is more relevant to address the topical contemporary events in an adequate way.
In addition, another significant effect of this very case is the changing of the “Charlie Hebdo” status, the status of media itself. From being a radical magazine of a special character, with its narrow circle of audience, this media suddenly turned out in the object of universal attention, which proves the process of media globalization one more time.
Concluding the essay, it is important to emphasize that any similar case gives society a valuable lesson, a set of strategies to follow. For instance, the Charlie Hebdo’s case can serve as a real example, which proves that even the mere twitter message, under the conditions of global media development, is able to trigger the wave of social changes.
No doubt, it does not mean that the only possible contribution is an online activism. In fact, it is also relevant to emphasize one’s position, expressed in social media, with some practical steps, e.g. the organization of art exposition, dedicated to the issue in question, the conducting of an experiment, questioning, etc. concerning the social issue, the producing of hand-made goods (bracelets, etc.), which would emphasize one’s position.
All in all, the point is, that in the globalized world, any step on the any continent, has the chance to become the part of the universal history with the help of social media and other tools.
References
Devichand, M. (2016, January 3). How the world was changed by the slogan 'Je Suis Charlie'. BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35108339.
Kakabadze, S., Uzoikina, K. (2015). “Je suis Charlie” as mass protest: analytical reconstruction
of emerging publics in France and in global level. Retrieved from
http://www. icpublicpolicy.org/ conference /file/reponse/1433963385.pdf.
Macdonald, M. (2015, January 16). Hashtag Activism: The Revolution Will be Tweeted. Tint. Retrieved from https://www.tintup.com/blog/hashtag-activism-revolution-tweeted/.
