Retweet after Me: Pro-life Social Media Saves Lives
October 20, 2017 - FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL
Pro-lifers aren't just winning in Washington, D.C. and state houses around America. They're winning online! The virtual fronts of the internet and social media are changing the debate for life every day. Don't believe me? Ask pro-abortion activist Robin Marty.
The columnist for Dame wrote a surprisingly encouraging column about the domination of the pro-life movement on the internet ("They're killing it on Twitter!"). "Abortion opponents use the social media platform like a weapon, and with absolute precision," she says, "and they're winning as a result."
"From turning the trial of Kermit Gosnell from a local crime story to a national rallying cry against dangerous rogue abortion providers to forcing Planned Parenthood into instant crisis mode within moments of the first so-called 'baby parts' videos hitting the internet, the anti-abortion movement doesn't just use social media as a highly effective tool: It is a literal weapon in their hands. Over the last few years, the movement has successfully trended hashtag after hashtag, using them to push media coverage on Supreme Court cases, abortion bans, even bubbles of mainstream news coverage of the annual March for Life."
Marty says she was so intrigued that she decided to go straight to the source and ask how pro-lifers got to be "so good at this." A lot of movement leaders credit the young generation of pro-lifers. According to one, pro-lifers have "far more young activists in their base, which gives them more social media power -- and they also benefit from having so many stay-at-home mothers... who aren't working and who can be ready to hit Twitter with a message when asked."
But, Marty thinks, the answer may be the closeness of the community, which is bound and determined to protect life. "What it all boils down to is that what really makes the anti-abortion movement's Twitter campaigns (or Twitter derailing campaigns) so successful is that their leaders all work cohesively together across the boards on them, turning several groups into one large social media unit." It's a cohesion, she says, that's "often lacking in the world of pro-abortion rights activists, and one that is probably unlikely to ever exist."
"One of the anti-abortion movement's biggest successes is its ability to be the loudest voice in the room, despite the fact that for most of the last two decades more Americans have identified as pro-choice than as pro-life. Their social media prowess has allowed that voice to become even louder, both in pushing their own talking points and shutting down the voices that disagree. It's no wonder that they are so enamored of Twitter, which provides the biggest megaphone to those who are the most organized, aggressive, and persistent. It's a lesson the abortion-rights movement could stand to learn a little from themselves."
So take heart! The next time you log on, remember what a difference you're making! Your Facebook page, your Twitter feed, and your Instagram photos can all change the way human life is valued in this country. If you aren't already following us on Twitter, check us out @FRCdc and @tperkins.
Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.
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