Blog 2: How is Moviment Graffiti’s online activism affecting the voice within Maltese politics in relation to the local construction bedlam?
This blog is a project for Study Unit MCS3953, University of Malta
The voice of the local activist community has been amplified in recent years with the growth of social media and all the tools and exposure it offers, simply at the click of a button. Locally, we have seen various NGOs and other organisations build a portfolio tackling the major issues which have entered social dialogue, with the one of the most talked-about controversies being the rapid and sometimes unregulated growth of construction.
Movement Graffiti have been crucial to this dialogue — they are the leading voice raising questions of ethics, law and regulation within this sector. To discover more about how social media has contributed to their campaigns, I met with Wayne Flask, who, over the past year, has grown into the main spokesperson for this activist community. Wayne shared his story on managing the organisation’s voice online and how this has contributed in part to the consolidation of Moviment Graffiti’s arguments, as well as the gaps left which still require a physical presence to raise awareness.
In order to understand the full value that Moviment Graffiti give to their social media presence, one of the first questions was how important social media is to this community, especially in the age which we’re currently in and in light of the recent obstacles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wayne stated that social media and an online presence has become essential, “because first of all, it is our primary communication presence. Moviment Graffiti has a certain online reach which is not small, yet not huge. Most of the communication is published via our Facebook page”, however they also use other platforms like Instagram and Youtube.”
What makes it crucial is that as Facebook as their main platform, they can “push forward [their] ideas without being censored”, as it is their own space. Social media has given access to their audience in a way which traditional media cannot, especially in terms of funding and censorship when attempting to push forward their agenda through traditional channels like television and radio, especially given that their message is sometimes laced in controversial statements which go against the status quo set by the main media channels owned by the local political parties and the state.
If we were to continue relying mostly on digital campaigns, given the current global situation and the uncertainty the future holds, what would be the key fundamentals to consider for a 100% digital campaign to be successful for Moviment Graffiti?
Assuming that the organisation would go for such a campaign, Wayne says that the fundamental pillars would be “clarity and consistency in the message. Having a message that is honest and that is not after power, votes or money are the key fundamentals in the way we operate.”
Moviment Graffiti have never had to resort to a campaign based purely on digital platforms, as their strategy has always included backing by documents, press releases and consultations, as well as the technical policy aspect that applies to each campaign.
“A protest or a campaign on its own without proposals tends to lose out. We don’t just say “this is wrong”. We say why this is wrong and we come up with solutions.”
