Celebrities and Social Media, Pt. 2

I want to take a look at a specific instance when a celebrity used her social media presence to communicate to her followers about a cause that she was fighting for. First I want to tell you a little bit about the cause: the Dakota Access Pipeline. A pipeline was proposed to transport crude oil from North Dakota, through South Dakota and Iowa, and to Illinois. The pipeline, also known as the Bakken Oil Pipeline is being built because it is believed by the company proposing it to be the safest and most cost-effective way to access and transport the undiscovered oil located in the U.S. portion of the Bakken Formation. The issue with this, and the reason that many people are protesting, is that, according to a complaint filed to a federal court by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, "the construction and operation of the pipeline... threatens the Tribe's environmental and economic well-being, and would damage and destroy sites of great historic, religious, and cultural significance to the Tribe." So basically, this Native American Tribe believes that they will be negatively impacted by the construction and operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Many people have stood alongside the Standing Rock Tribe in their efforts to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, but one person who has made her stance more well-known is actress Shailene Woodley. On October 10, 2016, Shailene Woodley was engaging in a protest at the site of the pipeline, and was arrested. She was able to get footage of her arrest (below) and with that footage, which was live-streamed on her Facebook account, she was able to show her fans/followers what was going on with the Dakota Access Pipeline from her perspective. By using her status as a celebrity, Woodley was able to spread a message to her fans/followers and use her social media account to influence others.