Category: Academic Post
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Political philanthropy: is it real or just a pretext?: Assessing it in comparison to the digital philanthropy of Mr Beast and Greek influencers
Introductory note I got the inspiration to write this blog post after reading Joel’s post where he discussed whether digital activism looks good or actually does good, by examining Davies’ article on MrBeast’s philanthropy (Huggins, 2024). I found this approach on activism very interesting, and I subsequently thought that I could write something starting from…
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The Power of Pictures: (Palestinian) Photography as Visual Weapons – In an Age of Digital Disinformation
“Pictures are particularly powerful visual weapons (cf. Lilleker, Veneti and Jackson, 2019) against oppression and suffering as has been demonstrated in places like South Africa and Palestine.” “Google Arts and Culture posits that of all art mediums, photography is perhaps the greatest weapon against exposing and calling to order injustice.” – Karam & Mutsvairo, 2021,…
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Relational Humanitarianism and Grassroots Activism
“Peace for Palestine” Artist / Designer @leemur_land In this article, I will contextualize the events and insights from my previous exploration of pro-Palestinian protests in Athens within an academic framework, drawing on the works of scholars such as Barnett (2011), Brun and Horst (2023), Fechter (2023), and Salvatici (2020). By situating the grassroots activism…
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From OSPAAAL to Artists Against Apartheid: The Visual Language of Justice from Streets to Digital
Art and politics often come together in the fight for justice and freedom. This is especially true in Pro-Palestinian activism. Visual art helps challenge mainstream stories and build global support. One key player in this type of resistance art was OSPAAAL (Organización de Solidaridad con los Pueblos de Asia, África y América Latina). Founded in…
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Digital Activism: doing good or looking good?
And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time…. Hi there dear reader, hope you are doing well in these rather confusing and troubling times. In this post I want to delve a little deeper into the question of digital activism and whether it’s a case of doing good or just looking good, which…
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Repression and Its Implications: A Threat to Democratic Freedoms
On November 1, the German parliament passed a new resolution targeting anti-Semitism. Amnesty International warns that its vague language enables the broad criminalization of criticism of Israel. This repression endangers freedoms such as speech, assembly, artistic expression, and academic liberty. The resolution could strip state funding from cultural or artistic projects labeled as “potentially antisemitic,”…
