Social media is an effective way for people to state their opinions. However, some people use this resource for the wrong reasons. Celebrities voice their opinions online – these are the type of people who should not be involved in our politics.
Often times people prioritize celebrities’ opinions over regular working-class civilians. That’s morally wrong. Celebrities should prioritize being unbiased to both sides of the story. For example, imagine following your favorite music artist on a social media platform. You would be there for their music rather than their political opinions.
A great example of celebrities involved with politics is the Donald Trump and Elon Musk situation that happened in mid-August. Back in 2021, Donald Trump was permanently suspended from using X (formerly Twitter) because of the controversial and violent things he shared online. Elon Musk purchased Twitter and uplifted his suspension in November of 2022. Elon Musk supports Trump and didn’t take any of Trump’s former actions into account. With Musk up-lifting Trump’s suspension, he is introducing violence back into social media, completely disregarding why he was suspended in the first place.
Another example of this issue is the George Clooney and Joe Biden situation that happened just recently. Clooney’s line of work doesn’t include politics but he still commented on them. According to BBC news, George praised Joe Biden for stepping down from the presidential race. “Most selfless thing a president has done since George Washington,” said George Clooney. Telling the public, “We are not going to win in November with this president.” This again brings me back to the topic of what your social platform was originally for. In Clooney’s case, he’s an actor and film producer and didn’t have any political experience from the start except for being part of the top donors for the Democratic party.
Many people who follow politics change the way they think based on what they see. Often people won’t listen to others’ opinions unless they have a significant profile online. If people step out of what they believe in it could change their outlook on both sides of stories and how they respond online. Having an opinion is a powerful advantage, but starting arguments and uproar online because of something someone said is uncalled for and unnecessary. If your social platform or how you made a name for yourself had no correlation to politics, it’s for the best to just stick to what you originally started your platform for to help make social media a less controversial environment.
