terrorist groups like ISIS do not represent Islam and its beliefs.135 One positive aspect
of this campaign is its simplicity and ease to participate in; additionally, its visibility can
make it highly effective by drawing attention to the problem, which may intrigue its
audience to look further into it. Though it may be simple, the ‘NotInMyName’ trend
has been shared by thousands of social media users, helping to counter negative
perceptions of Islam and show people that terrorist groups such as ISIS do not
represent Islam. This is one of many social activism campaigns to raise awareness. The
‘SandraBland’ hashtag illustrated how social media is a powerful tool in the hands of
activists. The hashtag became popular after scepticism arose surrounding the
circumstances of Sandra Bland’s death (police claimed Bland committed suicide in jail
three days after being arrested for what many considered, after a video of the arrest
became available online, to be an unfair arrest). These social media campaigns that
draw attention to injustice can often result in change: in 2013 feminist campaign
groups called for the ban of online pages they said promoted violence, and this led to
Facebook admitting they needed to do more to identity and remove controversial,
harmful and hateful content.136 As these kind of campaigns spread internationally
through Twitter or Facebook, it may be a useful method to draw attention to human
rights abuses or discriminating attitudes that affect Myanmar’s communities.
Furthermore, businesses can play an important role in countering hate by giving young
people the tools to find their voice, promote peace and develop through education. In
an interview Farah Anwar Pandith, who works for the American government as a
Special Representative to Muslim Communities, argues that not only should the
government create platforms where voices can be heard, but businesses should be
creating them too.137 He gives the example of TED, a global set of educational
conferences available through the TED app for smart phones, Facebook, and Twitter.
135
Mosbergen, D., (2015) ‘'This Is Not Islam': #NotInMyName Campaign Revived After Paris Attacks’,
Huffington Post, available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/notinmyname-parisattacks_56494ef7e4b045bf3defbf7a?v3ac3di [November 2015].
136
Lee, D., (2013) ‘Facebook bows to campaign groups over 'hate speech'’, BBC, available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22701082 [November 2015].
137
Pandith, F., (2013), ‘Social Media in the Muslim World’, U.S. Department of State, available at:
http://www.state.gov/s/srmc/2013/206743.htm [November 2015].
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