By Karly Ortiz
Celebrities have always had a huge impact on swaying public opinion. In the past, however, this capability was only confined to things like fashion, brand recommendations and the occasional celebrity diss.
Now with the rising awareness of seemingly endless political debates and world conflicts, celebrities and now influencers are expected to take a stance on much more than fashion.
I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing in itself. Whether they like it or not, these people have a great amount of power in the following they’ve accumulated. With this comes the obligation to spread awareness and step out of their bubble of privilege.
These conflicts cannot be ignored. Remaining silent isn’t an option, because taking no position often sends a message in itself.
During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, for example, some celebrities and influencers continued posting casually while their Black fans suffered in the streets fighting for equality in the eyes of the justice system. Black fans mourned family members, feared for their own lives and the lives of their kin and felt distrust in the systems claiming to protect them.
Meanwhile, the people profiting off of these fans’ support didn’t support them. These millionaires—whose donation or reposting of a donation link can help in ways the average citizen cannot fathom—were silent.
Eventually, their fan bases woke up and decided that not speaking up in a time of global or national turmoil was a cancellable offense.
The downfall of this new expectation placed on celebrities is that a lot of the time they have no idea what they’re talking about.
However, not every situation since then has been so simple. At least not if you don’t understand what’s happening and don’t attempt to find out.
This combined with the pressure to respond to conflicts quickly is a recipe for misinformation, propaganda and overall bad takes.
This past month, musician Justin Bieber and actress Jamie Lee Curtis both reposted images of a completely leveled Gaza, with the words “Pray for Israel” above it. Curtis has around 5 million followers, and Bieber has over 290 million.
Of course, neither of these mistakes were addressed.
These celebrities themselves are misinformed, yet their reposts can make a huge impact on the sway of public opinion.
As aforementioned, I believe part of the constant propaganda and surface-level posts that celebrities post during these historical events comes from the pressure to take a stance and share it with the public.
They want to get ahead of the curve and take their positions early, without doing any research or leaving their eco-chamber to ensure their support is well placed.
Surprisingly though, I do not believe we should let celebrities off the hook. It is my personal belief that anyone with that much influence must be a part of the world they benefit from.
These people profit from their fans. The least they could do is remain educated on the happenings of the world and contribute their absurd amount of money to make changes.
Average citizens have to deal with the repercussions of unjust policies, flawed institutions and mass discrimination daily. We do not have the luxury of sitting in a penthouse and reposting the first thing we see when we want to be seen as “woke.”
However, they are still just people. Celebrities are not journalists who have commitments to the truth. They are privileged people with their own agendas, and no real ties to the reality you and I live in.
We should be doing our own research and forming our own opinions outside of celebrity Instagram stories. But it certainly would help if they thought more critically, and were more responsible with their platforms.
