An online activism campaign has celebrities who haven’t used their platforms to speak up in support of Palestine losing followers by the thousands.
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00:00Social media users are blocking celebrities and influencers who haven't spoken up in support
00:06of Palestine.
00:08The campaign aims to force people with influence to use it, or face the economic impacts of
00:13losing followers.
00:14The trend took off after a social media influencer shared a video of herself at the Met Gala,
00:19lip-syncing to Marie Antoinette's famously out of touch.
00:26Much like the French Revolution, calls for the rich and famous to face the digital guillotine
00:30dubbed the Digiteen soon followed.
00:32Hayley Bailey, who shared the original video, has reportedly lost 100,000 followers since
00:37posting it.
00:38TikTok is now full of lists of celebrities and influencers to block, but the movement
00:43isn't without criticism.
00:45It's been called performative, slacktivism, and poorly researched.
00:49One list reportedly included Alan Rickman, who died in 2016, while others included the
00:54Hadid sisters, who are themselves Palestinian.
00:57There are also concerns that the trend, which was made in part to reject celebrity worship,
01:02is taking focus away from Palestinian voices and centering celebrity gossip.