The Power of Information Cascades on Social Media
A month ago, sexual harassment allegations burst out towards renowned producer Harvey Weinstein against a number of actresses, including Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, in situations that occurred about 20 years ago. Weinstein used his power and influence in the industry to coerce these young, relatively fresh faces in Hollywood into doing sexual favors for him. For years, Weinstein has been using his money and status to cover these accusations. Yet, he has been punished recently thanks to the public outrage sparked by the victims’ stories on social medias. Weinstein was then fired from his own company.
Actress Alyssa Milano started the movement of revealing the dark phase of the Hollywood industry. She popularized using the “#metoo” tag as a means to show just how common sexual harassment is. The #metoo movement showed us how social media allows for important information cascades. Allegations against Weinstein happened long ago, yet it is only publicly spoken of now. At first, people chose not to talk about their stories. Experienced directors, producers, or executives can essentially control the trajectory of their careers, so to speak out against them would put one’s dreams on the line. However, after one actress stood out and spoke against Weinstein, the fraction of people revealing their experience exceeded the threshold, and then the decision spreads to other people. This generated a sense of safety in numbers, as Weinstein could not target one individual and attempt to invalidate her story. With more and more people choose to share their dark experience about Weinstein, the victims feel safer and inspired to share their own. Therefore, the benefit of disclosing the stories significantly increases. The social media movement let victims know that they are not alone in their struggles and that there are people who will listen, empathize with, and defend them. As a result, the power of information cascades accumulates and eventually takes down the giant in the industry.
Source: https://www.mironline.ca/metoo-hashtag-versus-giant