Social Media Infographic
Indigenizing Social Media, Can it Happen?
The Missing Murdered Indigenous Women (#MMIW) movement began using social media to gain traction for their cause around 2015. The goal is to draw attention to the high rates of disappearance and murder among Native women. Since taking to social media the original hashtag #MMIW now includes other hashtags like #MMIWG (Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), #MMIP (Missing Murdered Indigenous People), and #MMIWAwareness. While there is no denying that platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have aided those behind the movement in spreading awareness by sharing stories of those who are missing there are also major racial disparities.
Missing person cases involving people of color in the U.S. are less likely to be solved than cases involving white women. “Missing white women statistically receive more media coverage than any other gender group” (Sung, 2021). While traditional media coverage and social media differ in the way information is shared it does tend to feed off each other. What is popular on television news outlets is typically popular on social media.
A recent and poignant example of the stark realities of racial disparities on social media is the Gabby Petito case. When Gabby Petito went missing during the summer of 2021 our social media feeds were filled with information about Petito. Millions of people shared her story and were focused on what could have happened to her. We all knew who Petito was within days. Photos and videos of her were plastered all over the news and on every social media platform. It was as if everything else stopped and Petito was the only missing person in the country. Looking at data on TikTok solidifies this statement. As of March 19th, 2022, the hashtag #GabbyPetito had 1.9 billion views. In comparison, the Hashtag #MMIW had 300.4 million views, and #MMIWAwareness had 81.8 million views.
Social media scientists and commentators refer to the issue “missing white woman syndrome.” The reality is “Women of color are less likely to receive likes and clicks and shares” (Yang, 2021). Nobody should argue that what happened to Petito was anything less than horrific and tragic. It is undeniable though, that the Petito’s case completely overshadowed the cases of indigenous women who were missing at the same time.
A scarcity of data adds the problem. How are people supposed to be aware of missing Indigenous women if there isn’t accurate data to back it up? “In 2016, 5,712 cases of missing Native women were reported to the National Crime Information Center. Only 116 of these were recorded in the Department of Justice’s Missing Persons database. A 2018 report from the Urban Indian Health Institute discovered 506 cases and that 330 Native women had gone missing or been murdered since 2010 – but 153 of these were absent from police records” (Lucchesi & Echo-Hawk, 2018). Local and tribal law enforcement need to work together to present accurate data to the community.
Another blow to the #MMIW movement happened on May 5, 2021. A National Day of Awareness for Native women and girls who have gone missing and have been murdered. On that day millions of stories and posts about #MMIW were removed by Instagram. Instagram apologized for the issue and attributed it to a widespread global technical issue that affected re-share posts, as well as archive and highlight functions. However, supporters of #MMIW described the situation as alarming and believed the social media platform was working to silence Indigenous voices. Instagram did fix the issue, but the platform has been criticized for being vague and m any users now question their motives. Further research shows that other posts about social justice issues like #BlackLivesMatter and #SOSColombia were affected as well.
In conclusion I feel it is important to spread awareness about the racial disparities that surround #MMIW on social media platforms. In my infographic I included a QR code that directs people to MMIW USA. This website offers information about #MMIW and ways to contribute through information, advocacy, and donation.
Check out the link above for a live look at my infographic. Or download the file below.
References
Brollini, L. (2021, May 7). KTOO. Some Accuse Instagram of censorship after posts for Missing, Murdered, Indigenous Persons Awareness Day disappear.
Ishisaka, N. (2021, September 27). Contrasting coverage of Gabby Petito case and missing and murdered Indigenous people shows ‘absolute injustice.’ The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/contrasting-coverage-of-gabby-petito-case-and-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-shows-absolute-injustice/
Kesslen, B. (2021, September 24). All-out search, media attention for Gabby Petito reveals glaring disparity for Wyoming’s Indigenous People. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-out-search-media-attention-gabby-petito-reveals-glaring-disparity-n1279980
Lucchesi, A. & Echo-Hawk, A. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls. Urban Indian Health Institute. https://www.uihi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls-Report.pdf
Sung, M. (2021, September 22). Missing Black and Indigenous people don’t get same attention as missing white women. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/black-indigenous-victims-media-coverage-gabby-petito
Waddel, B. (2021, November 1st). Incomplete Data Complicates the Search for Missing Native American Women. US News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-11-01/the-link-between-missing-indigenous-women-and-missing-data
Woo Yang, N. (2021, November 6). Missing white woman syndrome persists on social media. The Ticker. https://theticker.org/5203/opinions/missing-white-woman-syndrome-persists-on-social-media/
Case Study
#MMIW (Missing Murdered Indigenous Women) and #MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) is a human rights movement about Native American/Indigenous women who are murdered, taken, or disappear. Many of these crimes go underreported with little to no resolution. In response to this crisis, indigenous people have united from across the USA and Canada to raise awareness. They do this through social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok to spread current data and information to the public in hopes to stop what they feel is “silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis.” My case study examines how the #MMIW and #MMIWG movement is bringing awareness to underreported violence against Native American and Indigenous women to seek justice and solve violent crimes.
Check out the link above for a a live look at my case study presentation. Or download the file below.