Users across social media today are posting black squares as part of Blackout Tuesday, a protest planned by two black executives in the music industry. But many are pointing out that by tagging these posts with #BLM or #BlackLivesMatter, people are unintentionally flooding online spaces that are used to share helpful information with unhelpful black squares.
In a video that’s been retweeted thousands of times, a user showed how the Black Lives Matter hashtag on Instagram has been swarmed by countless images of black squares.
Others posted similar warnings about how these Blackout Tuesday posts have unintentionally buried posts documenting police brutality, spreading donation links, or sharing resources for organizers.
Many social media users are asking people to stop tagging these posts with BLM-related hashtags and use #BlackoutTuesday or #TheShowMustBePaused instead. One user also implored Twitter accounts to remove variations of BLM in their display names, which can muddy search results with unrelated posts.
Blackout Tuesday is a protest that was organized by Jamila Thomas, a senior director of marketing at Atlantic Records, and Brianna Agyemang, a former Atlantic executive. The protest, originally called The Show Must Be Paused, called on the music industry “to protect and empower the Black communities that have made them disproportionately wealthy.”
The initiative “is meant to intentionally disrupt the work week” by encouraging artists and labels to pause self-promotion and take time to reflect on “what actions we need to collectively take to support the Black community.”
It’s unclear when posting black squares became part of the protest, but some social media users feel it’s missing the point and might inadvertently silence a movement.
A number of artists and record labels have posted in solidarity with the initiative and shared posts with the #TheShowMustBePaused hashtag.
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