Feb. 2nd 2021: For 3 months farmer protests at the borders of New Delhi have swelled to hundreds of thousands. The response from authorities in India was at first silence, glaring media bias, the cutting off of internet at the protest sites, silence and abuse independent journalists reporting on the ground, and ban social media influencers who are supporting the #FarmersProtest among many other extremely alarming reports like that of a would be assassin sent to take out farm union leaders.
In this extreme climate pop music mega-star Rihanna posted on her twitter a solicitation to talk about the subject. This is the beauty of social media, were it not for influential figures to bring up the subject, the farmers protest would receive relatively little notoriety among western public amid the endless overflow of sensational news and events.
This morning Rihanna, one of the most popular pop stars of the decade, tweeted an article from CNN titled: 'India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police' along with the question, "why aren't we talking about this? #farmersprotest"
Rihanna has over 100 million followers. As of now her tweet has received thousands of comments, and hundreds of thousands likes and retweets. Though some reactions seem exhibit a long pre-existing bias against Sikhs as being extremists, there are comments that are sure to open many eyes to the plight of the farmers.
why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest https://t.co/obmIlXhK9S
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 2, 2021
A few hours later notable environmental activist Greta Thunburg also tweeted on the subject, "We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India." Also garnering hundreds of thousands of likes:
We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India.
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 2, 2021
https://t.co/tqvR0oHgo0
This new exposure has brought the subject more into a global audience. Though subjects on the internet too often devolve into toxic polarization now it is on us to represent ourselves in such a way that conveys who we truly are: heartfelt and respected patrons of humanity. It is our encouragement that comments on such tweets will increase exposure, so let's see this as a great opportunity to demonstrate our dignified nature by being informative while reaching to the common humanity in others.