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Social media platforms have become essential tools for political discourse, particularly for marginalized communities. Movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo show how these platforms can elevate unheard voices and drive real political change. However, the same platforms can become hostile environments. Women and people of color often experience targeted harassment or algorithmic bias that suppresses their content. Social media both connects and divides, it creates space for solidarity and visibility but also replicates systemic inequities. Race and gender remain central axes along which online discourse is shaped. As users, we must critically engage with content and recognize how platform design impacts who is heard. As future professionals and communicators, it’s our responsibility to advocate for safer, more inclusive digital spaces.

This TEDx talk explores how identity, including race and gender, is performed and perceived through social media. It offers insight into how platforms shape both self expression and political visibility.

This photo represents how social media amplifies grassroots movements, especially those focused on race and gender justice. Hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter

This Pew Research article reveals that about 42% of U.S. social media users say these platforms are important for them to get involved with political or social issues. It shows how deeply social media have become entwined in political engagement and how people use them as tools for activism and expressing identity.