<h3>In an era of misinformation and marginalisation, how can creators responsibly use their platforms to drive authentic social change?</h3>
As someone on the frontlines of activism, podcaster 
and civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson offers 
hard-won insights on the power and pitfalls 
of modern media. DeRay rose to prominence 
organising protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following 
the shooting dead of Black teenager Michael Brown 
by a police officer in 2014.
The creator of Pod Save The People explained 
how, at the time, Twitter (now X) enabled real-time 
organising: “I could tweet ‘be at the corner of so and 
so’ and 3,000 people would come. 
“By the time that police figured it out, it’s like, we’d 
already done the thing.”
<blockquote>“Critical mass never begins at 100; it always begins at one or two.”</blockquote>
– DeRay Mckesson, podcaster and civil rights activist

However, today’s fragmented social media 
landscape poses new challenges. DeRay tries to 
carefully vet sources, but admits “it’s now harder to 
separate truth from fiction”.
DeRay pointed to how, in 2014, activists relied on 
makeshift tools including (now defunct) Vine to share 
snippets of protests. But viral video in a TikTok era 
seems to be less about breaking news or citizen 
journalism and more about dance trends or life hacks. 
And the incessant quest for virality means 
misinformation now spreads rapidly. As the 
podcaster bluntly stated, “people will post things 
because they want a million likes”.
How can would-be changemakers find a voice 
across platforms that seem, at times, filled with 
clickbait nonsense? Effective activism requires 
simplifying language to make concepts resonate 
more broadly, advised DeRay. The civil rights activist 
avoids arguable inflammatory anti-police rhetoric by 
relating issues of excessive force to children.
As DeRay explained, “Do you need a person with a 
gun to tell a 10-year-old to stop screaming? Do you 
need a person with a gun to tell a kindergartener to 
sit down? You don’t”.
It can seem like an uphill battle in the face of 
growing alt-right voices and hate speech on 
platforms such as X, but journalists and creators 
who want to make a difference must speak out, said 
the podcaster.
“Remember that somebody’s always watching and 
somebody’s always listening.”
Recalling the early days of organising meetups in 
Ferguson living rooms, DeRay noted that “critical 
mass never begins at 100; it always begins at one 
or two”. But even isolated voices can precipitate big 
change when amplified at the right moment.
<h3>To get more digital marketing tips and expertise, download our full Marketing and media insights report <a href="https://collisionconf.com/marketing-insights" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.</h3>
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