“When you Search a #Hashtag,it Feels Like You’re Searching for Death:” Black Twitter and Communication About Police Brutality Within the Black Community

Abstract

Despite heightened levels of scrutiny and enhanced media coverage, excessive force by law enforcement continues to result in the disproportionate death of Black civilians. As a central rallying cry of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, mitigating instances of police brutality is of the utmost importance, and Twitter is a known mobilization and protest tool of the BLM movement. Yet, research surrounding police brutality specifically is sparse as police departments are not mandated to report cases of brutality, and the submission of body camera footage is often nonexistent or delayed. Fortunately, technological advancements, particularly the rise of Black Twitter and smartphones, have radically altered communication about information-seeking related to and knowledge circulation of police brutality. Using Critical Race Theory as the anchor, this qualitative study utilized a trauma-informed interview approach to better understand how Black Americans use Twitter to engage with the timely issue of police brutality. The following themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Remembering #PhilandoCastile, (2) Twitter: place for breaking news, (3) Twitter: organic connections in a Black-centered space, (4) Twitter: Firsthand Accounts/Authenticity, and (5) the dilemma of retweeting graphic images/videos. Findings from this study can be used to better understand how Blackness and social media intersect to impact various fields, including digital media, policing, mental health, and social movements.

Keywords

police brutality Black Lives Matter (BLM)Critical Race Theory Black Twitter #hashtags

Introduction

Immoral policing practices and the criminalization of the Black body are embedded in American systems and culture, including digital media and technology (Benjamin, 2019; Criss et al., 2020; Hattery & Smith, 2021). Unfortunately, imprudent behavior, such as excessive force and police brutality, inflicted by law enforcement against Black bodies is a pattern that can be traced for centuries (Graham et al., 2020; Hinton, 2022; Turner et al., 2006).

Thus, excessive violence enacted by law enforcement is not a new phenomenon; instead, it is societal access to knowledge surrounding police brutality that has changed. Technological advancements such as social media, especially Twitter, and smartphones have drastically altered how Black individuals gather information, with whom they communicate, and how information is circulated (Brock, 2020). A clear example of Twitter’s impact on the Black community can be observed by illuminating the issue of police brutality (Anderson et al., 2021; Cowart et al., 2016; Mundt et al., 2018; Williams, 2021).

From Philando Castile to George Floyd to Sandra Bland, stories, images, and videos related to police brutality often first emerge on Black Twitter. The maiming and killing of Black individuals by law enforcement are frequently video recorded and circulated on Twitter, initially circumventing traditional news outlets. In turn, Twitter has become a place of communication, rapid information dissemination, and knowledge circulation related to police brutality for the Black community. The power of Black Twitter is well-documented (Brock, 2020; Parham, 2021); this is especially true as it relates to connecting networks, highlighting #hashtags, and popularizing the #BlackLivesMatter movement (Cowart et al., 2016; Ince et al., 2017; Mundt et al., 2018). However, even after historic protests in 2020, little attention has been given to how the Black community engages with Twitter to communicate and share information about police brutality specifically. Therefore, this study employed interviews to understand better how Black Twitter users engaged with the platform regarding police brutality. Findings from this study support the idea that Black Twitter is a unique digital space where information sharing about police brutality is abundant. Black users frequently prefer Twitter over traditional media outlets and other forms of social media.

First, the study will explore the existing literature related to Black Twitter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), and the use of #hashtags to raise awareness of cases of police brutality. Next, I briefly operationalize the term “police brutality” and offer some important racial contextualization to the issue. This racial contextualization provides the framework and justification for the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT); this is especially true considering the importance of Black Twitter as a digital space where Blackness is embraced and celebrated. Finally, the research design and findings are presented.

Literature Review

Black Twitter

Somewhat mystifying, Black Twitter is not a physical location but refers to a digital space, network, and community present on Twitter (Florini, 2014; Graham & Smith, 2016; Hill, 2018). In his seminal book, Andre Brock clarifies, writing,

Black Twitter is Twitter’s mediation of Black cultural identity, expressed through digital practices and informed by cultural discourses about Black everyday life . . . an online gathering (not quite a community) of Twitter users who identify as Black and employ Twitter features to perform Black discourses, share Black cultural commonplaces, and build social affinities. While there are a number of non-Black and people of color Twitter users who have been “invited to the cookout,” so to speak, participating in Black Twitter requires a deep knowledge of Black culture, commonplaces, and digital practices. (p. 82)

Pew Research (Auxier, 2020) has found that on multiple occasions, Black Americans have reinforced the power of social media. Auxier (2020) notes that Black Twitter allows individuals to “collectively organize, offer support, and increase visibility online for Black people and issues that matter to them,” (p. 1). According to Nielsen (2018) figures, 28% of Twitter users identify as African American, and 9.3 million or around 20% of Black people in America self-report as active users of Black Twitter; this figure is significantly larger for Gen Z and Millennials.

Black Americans’ values, interests, and priorities often appear on Twitter, and it is frequently used as a digital counter public where Black culture and community are augmented (Taylor, 2022). One way in which Black users highlight identity is through signifyin’. Florini (2014) notes that signifyin’ is “an interactional framework that allows Black Twitter users to index Black cultural practices, to enact Black subjectivities, and to communicate shared knowledge and experience” (p. 2). I argue that Black Twitter is a unique digital space and place where Black individuals go to index the cultural practice of BLM protests and communicate about the shared experience of consuming media and sharing experiences related to police brutality.

The construction of Black Twitter as a counterpublic follows a deep history of the Black community finding and leveraging safe spaces where issues of cultural relevance and Black-centered communication styles are used. Black-owned newspapers played a vital role in preserving the narratives of Black resistance while also providing resources to Black protests (O’Kelly, 1982). Similarly, the Black Church is a cultural staple of the community where Black issues are discussed in a predominantly Black space (Djupe & Neiheisel, 2022). This is also true for Black barbershops and beauty shops; in fact, these locations were essential in circulating information about COVID-19 (Boehme et al., 2023). Black Twitter serves a similar purpose but with the issue of police brutality.

Bonilla and Rosa (2015) studied the role Black Twitter plays in documenting and sharing instances of police brutality. To Black Americans, Twitter represents a form of direct participation and access to unfiltered news. They write,

Twitter does not just allow you to peer through a window; it allows you to look through manifold windows at once. On #Ferguson, you could watch six simultaneous live streams. You could read what protestors were tweeting, what journalists were reporting, what the police was announcing, and how observers and analysts interpreted the unfolding events. You could also learn how thousands of users were reacting to the numerous posts. In the era of transistor radios and television sets, one did not necessarily know what listeners or viewers yelled back at their machines, but on Twitter one can get a sense of individual responses to mediatized events. (p. 8).

Lee (2017) takes this argument a step further, she argues that high rates of information seeking and dissemination on Black Twitter is a direct result of the community’s distrust of mainstream media sources. According to Lee (2017), Black Twitter uplifts counter narratives and allows the Black community to redefine their stories and identities related to police brutality and BLM.

BLM

BLM is a social movement formed in the United States dedicated to fighting systemic racism; one of the movement’s rallying points is combatting instances of police brutality (Ray & Neily, 2021). In recent years, social media has become a common way for social movements, especially BLM, to organize (Alfonzo, 2021; Mundt et al., 2018). In their qualitative study, when discussing BLM, one respondent stated, “Social media allows us to be able to network, it allows people in another region to be like, ‘Okay, I send solidarity,’ to say, ‘I feel you.’ That gives you the extra push and rejuvenation that you need sometimes in this organizing,” (Mundt et al., 2018, p. 7). Moreover, Mundt and colleagues found that Twitter assisted BLM in several ways, by: (1) increasing internal connections, (2) generating external resources, (3) building coalitions, and (4) amplifying narratives. It is worth noting that Black Twitter was crucial in initially propelling BLM forward (Sharma, 2013). One week after Michael Brown’s death in 2014, the hashtag #Ferguson appeared more than 8 million times on Twitter. This power was seen again in 2020 as #GeorgeFloyd sparked protests around the globe.

#Hashtags

Hashtag is a feature that allows individuals to search a specific term and filter tweets based on topic (Taylor, 2022). Black Twitter frequently dominates the hashtags, translating to setting the trending topics (Brock, 2012). Thus, BLM-centered hashtags like #SayHerName, #HandsUpDontShoot, #IfTheyGunMeDown, and #BlackLivesMatter circulated through Twitter and often appeared as trending topics (Bonilla & Rosa, 2015; Sharma, 2013). According to data from Twitter, until 2019, #Ferguson was the single most-used hashtag in the platform's history, while #BlackLivesMatter was third (Bonilla & Rosa, 2015).

Hashtags have blossomed into a formal vehicle of awareness and social change. By using hashtags, a key feature of Twitter, Black users can draw attention and share information related to police brutality. Moreover, Freelon et al. (2016) contend #hashtags increase unity, an essential component of social movements.

Freelon et al. (2016) found that education and amplification are the two primary goals of Black Twitter users when they engage (tweet/retweet) in conversations. In their study, interview participants described using various hashtags to draw attention to structural issues of anti-Blackness, inequality, and systemic erasure of Black issues, particularly issues of police brutality (Freelon et al., 2016). Often, hashtags are a way to raise awareness quickly around a case of police brutality.

Police Brutality

As mentioned earlier, a historic number of BLM protests were observed in 2020, directly resulting from cases of police brutality (Westerman et al., 2020). An unprecedented amount of protests were observed following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as they were killed by law enforcement officers. Footage of George Floyd’s death was first circulated on Twitter, sparking massive outrage. At one point, there were simultaneous protests in all 50 states and at least 7 countries (Buchanan et al., 2020). In addition to scope, the BLM protests of 2020 were marked by an unparalleled level of racial solidarity and allyship (Washington, 2020). Regardless of race, state, or country, a historic amount of individuals mobilized to protest recent cases of police brutality, a core target of reform for BLM.

Obviously, officers possess the right to disarm a threat and defend themselves, but often, cases of police brutality exceed the violence needed to maximize safety. Alpert and Dunham (2004) write, “excessive force refers to situations where government officials legally entitled to use force exceed the minimum amount necessary to diffuse an incident” (p. 21). For the scope of this study, police brutality can best be defined as a form of police action that exceeds the necessary force, and the act harms, dehumanizes, or degrades the civilian. One must note that excessive use of physical violence constitutes brutality but not all brutality stems from physical violence.

Police brutality can include a myriad of actions, including false arrests, increased police presence, and threats of retaliation (Alpert & Dunham, 2004). Furthermore, brutality often extends past physical violence and includes emotional violence, verbal assault, and psychological intimidation (Alang et al., 2017). Finally, like other aspects of systemic racism, police brutality does not require intent (Bailey et al., 2021; DiAngelo, 2021; Kendi, 2019). An officer can inflict harm even when they did not purposely do so; dehumanization, degradation, and bodily harm can and often do occur without intent. Breonna Taylor’s case ought to serve as evidence of this somber truth.

Police Brutality & Black Americans: A racial disparity

Multiple studies have found that Black Americans experience police brutality more than other groups (Bent-Goodley et al., 2022; Bor et al., 2018; DeVylder et al., 2022; Hattery & Smith, 2021). A 2020 study conducted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that Black people are more than three times more likely to be killed during a police encounter than White individuals (Schwartz & Jahn, 2020), and Black teenagers are around six times as likely to be shot to death by police (Urell, 2022). Yet, it is troubling to note that these data are likely underreported because there is no federal mandate to report instances of police brutality. A recent study published in The Lancet (2021) found the number of deaths at the hands of police officers in the United States is likely more than double the amount originally reported. In addition, a 2015 study introduced this idea, noting that police-involved shootings lack transparency and rarely are mandated to report incidents to anyone, including hospitals or any local public health department (Krieger et al., 2015).

Additional studies highlight that the disparity is best explained by race, not class or another mitigating factor. For example, a comprehensive 2014 study analyzed over 40 years of data and found that Black individuals with a high income are just as likely to be killed by police officers compared to Black individuals in lower income areas (Krieger et al., 2014). Finally, ample research suggests that Black people are stopped by and encounter law enforcement more often, presenting more opportunities for interactions to turn deadly (Brunson, 2007; Dixon et al., 2008; Schwartz, 2020; Weitzer et al., 2008).

Race is the major factor influencing police brutality, and our current framework of policing is rooted in Anti-Blackness (Hattery & Smith, 2021; Walsh, 2021). In addition, digital media studies often erase the experiences of Black users and rarely allow for the analysis of race, and race-related issues on Twitter. Thus, Critical Race Theory is an ideal theory to employ for this study.

Critical Race Theory

Shrouded in recent political controversy and misinformation (Kreiss et al., 2021), Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a framework “engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power” (Delgado, 2013, p. 3). CRT was initially a legal framework that gained traction in the late 1970s and 1980s but has since been used to study several disciplines. Delgado and Stefancic (2012) note that Critical Race Theory is rooted in several key ideas including (1) racism is ordinary, and evident in everyday life, (2) White supremacy serves the dominant group, (3) race is a dynamic social construction that is the production of social thought and relations, and (4) minority status brings an understanding of race and racism unavailable to Whites.

Black Twitter and the intersection of race and Twitter have been previously explored (Agudelo & Olbrych, 2022; Brock 2020; Cowart et al., 2016; Mundt et al., 2018; Taylor, 2022), yet still, racism on the platform runs rampant (Frenkel & Conger, 2022; Knight, 2022). Moreover, Twitter has played a role in the simultaneous spread yet suppression of police brutality-related protests. Biddle (2020) writes, “Twitter helped digitally monitor the protests that swept across the country following the killing of George Floyd, tipping off police to social media posts with the latest whereabouts and actions of demonstrators” (p. 1). The Black community has a complex relationship with Twitter because, despite the platform’s racism, Black Twitter is a cultural force that drives social change, cultural conversations, and awareness of police brutality.

All considered, I argue CRT is appropriate here for multiple reasons. First, Black Twitter is a location of a cyber subculture dedicated to rejecting the narratives of the dominant culture; this is of the utmost importance when combatting stories of police brutality, which often uplift a narrative steeped in state-sanctioned violence and White supremacy. Second, this study allows the respondents to share their experiences of everyday racism related to police brutality and Twitter as opposed to framing it as a one-time phenomenon. Third, previous research unveiled the disparity of police brutality; this paired with CRT’s tenet of centering minority voices to better understand how racism is experienced makes CRT best equipped to frame this study.

Research Design

Research Question

It is abundantly clear that (1) police brutality hits the Black community most and (2) Twitter is an important place for the Black community to circulate #hashtags and communicate about police brutality. However, research that captures the lived realities, experiences, and perceptions of Black Americans of all genders regarding police brutality and Twitter is sparse. As a first-generation Black millennial professor, my lived experience and previous research lead to the following research question.

RQ: How does the Black community use Twitter to communicate about police brutality?

Method

Recruitment and Participant

Black Americans above 18 were eligible to participate in the study. The Institutional Review Board at a university on the east coast approved this study (1195331-1). Respondents were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. I posted the solicitation message on various social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter, and emailed the message to multiple national academic organization listservs, such as the National Communication Association, Pi Kappa Delta, and the National Forensic Association. Next, the solicitation message was sent to multiple advisors and presidents of Black student organizations at universities in the area. Finally, I located a key informant in an underserved and under-resourced area of Washington D.C., and through network sampling, they provided me with the contact information for multiple individuals who live in the community. Originally, there was a dearth of Black women respondents, but because of the importance of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) and #SayHerName campaign, I encouraged Black women to reach out to their networks and prompt participation.

Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted in the Spring of 2018. The average interviewee was 26 years old, ranging from 19 to 43. Educational attainment ranged from high school to a terminal degree (MD, PhD). Fourteen respondents identified as men, 11 as women, and 2 as non-binary/third gender.

Data Collection

When possible, participants had a choice as to how they were interviewed. Of the 27 interviews, 22 were conducted in person, while the remaining 5 were completed via telephone. Telephone interviews were recorded using a call-recording application on the principal investigator’s smartphone. As the sole author, I conducted all interviews, which had an average time of 43 min but ranged from 31 to 97 min. All names were changed to pseudonyms. All participants provided verbal and electronic informed consent.

A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data. The construction of the interview guide and the interview themselves were guided by trauma-informed approaches, and the researcher completed trauma training to assist respondents during their interviews. Using a trauma-informed approach, the first set of questions established safety and centered on capturing demographic data (e.g., age, gender, education). The second set of questions focused on respondents’ exposure to stories related to police brutality (e.g., “Tell me about some stories of police brutality,” “What do you remember most about these stories? Why? “Where do you go to learn more about stories of police brutality? Why?”). When individuals mentioned Twitter or Black Twitter, I probed for clarification when necessary. For example, if a respondent answered, “I usually go to Twitter for information.” I would inquire about why they prefer Twitter, what types of police brutality information they find on Twitter, etc. Interviews were conducted until data saturation or the point where little to no new information related to respondent experiences was achieved (Glaser & Strauss, 2017).

Data Analysis

All interviews were recorded and transcribed within 2 weeks of completion. Data were analyzed to isolate themes and reveal a patterned response and meaning in the data (Braun and Clarke (2006). The thematic analysis allows a researcher to better understand the experiences, meanings, and reality of their respondents (Braun and Clarke, 2006). First, although I conducted and transcribed all of the interviews, I re-read the transcripts to familiarize myself with the data and get a preliminary understanding of the respondents’ experiences. Second, while reading transcripts, I made detailed notes and identified potential themes. Owen (1984) notes themes should meet the criteria of recurrence, repetition, and forcefulness. Third, building on Owen, following Lawless and Chen’s (2018) approach to critical qualitative work, I filtered and inductively coded to isolate the most prevalent themes in the data. Finally, after identifying themes, I selected rich, thick quotations to illustrate and support the themes.

It is important to note that during the data analysis process, the researcher noticed that they gathered an overwhelming amount of data that was filled with deep, rich quotations that illustrated respondent experiences related to police brutality; in other words, one data set presented the opportunity for multiple articles that varied in scope. Due to the immense amount of data, the quotations could not be filtered into one study, and not all interview findings were pertinent to Black Twitter—other findings are more pertinent to the fields of public health. Due to the fruitful interviews, distinct, clear communicative patterns, and deep saturation, data gathered during the interview process will be featured in other upcoming publications and projects surrounding police brutality. However, no data or quotations are replicated.

Once the coding process was complete, I shared my findings with three senior faculty in my department, and in turn, they affirmed my themes, revealing a form of researcher triangulation (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Finally, since I was the sole coder, to maximize validity, I engaged in member checks (Cresswell & Miller, 2000) and shared my themes with two respondents; they confirmed the themes accurately reflected their experience and reality.

Findings

The analysis yielded five themes: (1) the legacy of #PhilandoCastile, (2) Twitter: Place for breaking news, (3) Twitter: connection and digital safe space for Blackness, (4) Twitter: firsthand accounts/authenticity, and (5) Twitter: role of retweeting.

Remembering #PhilandoCastile

Of the 27 interviewees, 25 recalled the tragic case of Philando Castile, many because of how his death was displayed on Twitter. Philando Castile was fatally shot by a law enforcement officer during a routine traffic stop. Philando was pulled over for a broken tail light and was instructed to provide his license and registration. Philando informed the officer that he was lawfully carrying a firearm, but the officer assumed he was reaching for the weapon opposed to his license. In turn. Philando was fatally shot seven times. Most shocking, in addition to dashcam footage from Minneapolis Police Department, Philando Castile’s girlfriend initially broadcasted the fatal encounter on Facebook Live, and the video was circulated millions of times via Twitter. Many also expressed increased frustration that Castile was murdered in front of his child.

Derek, Black male:

Yea Philando was crazy because his wife captured the whole video and it was live. She had no power in the interaction. We tuned in to watch a woman beg for the life of herself, her boyfriend and their child in the backseat. You could literally see Philando’s body slumped over. She couldn’t do much so she did all she could do, and that’s grab a camera.

Mary, Black female:

We have a list of headline cases. I mean I can list names: Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on. Philando, there was a lot going on there. I was upset. Angry. I was just waiting to see what type of story they would create to make it sound like it was his fault. But they couldn’t. We watched it happen. I remember thinking how I would react if I were his girlfriend. To watch someone, you love die in front of your child, that’s (pause) heavy.

Both Derek and Mary talked about how painful it was to watch Castile literally perish in front of their eyes. Other respondents revealed Castile’s case was memorable because he followed “all the rules,” and Twitter served as the place for video evidence of such.

Luke, Black male:

I was disgusted. Philando’s case was fucked up. He did everything he was supposed to do. He told the officer he had a gun and permit and was going to show it. Then he was shot. The video showed his bloody shirt. There was a baby in the car. There is no way in hell a cop would shoot into a car if a blonde hair blue eyed child was in the back. Anyone who says that is lying.

This finding clearly follows the voice of color thesis offered by CRT or the idea that racial minorities understand race and the impact of race in ways that White individuals cannot. For example, Luke explicitly stated, “ there is no way in hell a cop would shoot into a car if a blonde hair blue eyed child was in the back.” This quotation shows his racial awareness but also an overall awareness of how he believes race impacts interactions with law enforcement.

Although graphic, Luke’s quotation shows us how Philando’s video is etched into the collective public memory of many members of the Black community. Similar to the legacy of Rodney King (Lasley, 1994; Tuch & Weitzer, 1997), the death of Philando Castile and the video circulation on Twitter emerge as memorable, impactful, and long lasting.

Twitter: The Place for Breaking News

Multiple interviewees contended Twitter was the perfect platform to discover stories of brutality. In other words, Twitter was the respondent’s first exposure to certain brutality-related stories.

Tiffany, Black female:

At this point, to be honest (pause) for police brutality . . . I’d say . . . . Twitter is my breaking news. It’s where I go first. (DH: I’d love to hear more; can you tell me why?) Well if you ask my mom . . . it’s ‘cause I’m always on my phone (laughter). I’ve never thought about it (pause). OK . . . I’d say its cause Twitter gives me stories first and quickly. I can go on Twitter right now, refresh, scroll, and may see a new hashtag. The news will have the same people, the same story on for hours. But no new information. No one has time to sit and wait and watch that

Tiffany expressed that they use Twitter as a primary source of initial information; Twitter has replaced the typical breaking news headline in a TV-dominated news cycle. In addition, others indicated Twitter’s power of first exposure could be best understood by looking at #hashtags.

Corey, Black male:

Honestly, I hear about most cases on Twitter. It’s always on Twitter before it becomes the main headline news. News will pick it up like a day or two after I’ve already seen it on Twitter. The hashtags usually have the name and if you search the #hashtag, most of the time its related to police brutality or some other issue.

Charlie, Black male:

A lot of the videos and live streams, I see on Twitter first. If I hear of a story happening, I always try to locate a Livestream first or sometimes I may search a hashtag or try to find users in the city the incident is happening. Follow the #hashtag and you can usually find whatever you’re looking for. It’s sad to say it but . . . . (pause) sometimes when you first search #hashtags, if it’s a name, it feels like you’re searching for death. You know a #hashtag isn’t good. (long pause) . . . . So yea.

It is important to note that all of these cases show the promise of #hashtags as a form of gathering and disseminating information in the Black community. The hashtags highlight what Black Twitter deems worthy of attention, perhaps an informal method of agenda-setting. Black Twitter and the prioritization of certain issues are a direct response to the dominant narrative often circulated in television newsrooms. In other words, under CRT, the turn to Black Twitter is a clear rejection of dominant narratives steeped in White Supremacy.

Moreover, searching #hashtags via Twitter allows individuals to target what information they are receiving and from whom. Black Twitter has not only created a safe space but its own independent newsroom and cycle. Again, CRT provides us the framework to understand how these newsrooms are related to power and privilege, but it also highlights how Black Twitter reshapes this power in unique cultural ways. Twitter being a place for breaking news is echoed and reinforced in the other findings as well. For instance, breaking news about police brutality frequently occurs authentically, as individuals rarely have to actively search, revealing the third finding.

Twitter: Connection & Organic Conversations in a Safe Space

Next, a majority of the interviewees discussed Twitter’s network structure and spoke of the benefits of being connected to other Black people that allowed the gathering of information in an organic manner and in a digital space that embraced Blackness. As highlighted above, this shared experience and need for a digital safe space for Blackness follows CRT because other spaces have uplifted the dominant narrative. Yet, the shared experience of minority status and racism propels many users to Black Twitter. In turn, Black individuals are able to have self-contained conversations surrounding police brutality via Black Twitter. To many, this feels like an act of defiance and resistance. In other words, Black Twitter gives power and agency back to Black users.

Imani, Black female:

Because of how Twitter is set up, a lot of what information I find, I stumble across if that makes sense. I don’t usually look for police brutality stuff, but it always appears. Twitter is really good for that. You can get access to a lot of information in a short amount of time. I may log on Twitter to see the latest celebrity gossip, but see a retweeted link about a police brutality case. I click on that link and all of sudden, I am consumed with information that I didn’t intend to find in the first place.

Karlton, Black male:

I follow activists, people like Shaun King who make things like this their main goal. Find instances of brutality and bring them to justice. But sometimes the information just comes out of nowhere. All of the Ferguson coverage came across my twitter mad fast, I saw someone retweet it and I was like ohhhhhh shit. This is gonna blow up. And I was right. It blew up.

Others explained the importance of Twitter’s network as a form of intracultural discourse, a place where Blackness is celebrated instead of ridiculed.

Derek, Black male:

I prefer Twitter. I feel like the Black voice is actually heard on Twitter. It has become this outlet to allow people to feel heard. We as Black people are able to safely put out our thoughts and opinions out there. (DH: Interesting. Can you please elaborate on this?) We silence ourselves so much in real life. What we say, how we say it. The tone, our face. But when I’m on Twitter and know most of my followers are Black . . . . ohh trust and believe . . . Imma cut tf up (laughter).

Michelle, Black female:

I feel safer in the conversations on Twitter. Maybe it’s safety in numbers? Maybe it’s keyboard courage? Twitter fingers (laughter). I never see stuff about brutality on major news first. Usually, it’s one tweet that goes viral and Black Twitter does its job and makes the story bigger. Twitter feels more connected than me watching the news alone. If something don’t make sense, I can tweet out and get responses in 5 minutes. One tweet can turn into an hour-long conversation with like 15 other Black people.

Michelle and Derek use Twitter as a form of networking and coalition building, using Black Twitter as a tool to propel forward issues that impact the Black community. The interviewee below reinforces the importance of this finding.

Mary, Black female:

We can have real conversations on Twitter. The news, the news is like one-sided. You are told what happened and what to believe and that’s that. At least on Twitter, we can talk about it. I try to use my Twitter to have conversations. I may retweet something in hopes that it will start a conversation and raise awareness about issues in our community. (pauses) oh! Twitter also has more reach. Like say I want to bring attention to police or something I heard or saw. Yea, I could tell my friends. Or I could tweet or retweet it and then have them do the same. A tweet can go further than talking. (shrugs) To me, that’s just my opinion.

Twitter: Firsthand Accounts/Authenticity

For the Black community, Twitter is a crucial news source that the mainstream media often ignores. It’s not an accident that many police brutality cases started on Twitter and then migrated to traditional media. Interviewees believed Twitter was a way to receive candid, unfiltered reports void of racialized images and depictions. Simply put, for these respondents, Twitter mitigates media bias. Previous research supports the idea that Black people have justifications for not supporting the news as typical news outlets reinforce privilege and ideas of White innocence and supremacy (Entman & Rojecki, 2007). Respondents indicated Twitter’s firsthand accounts were more authentic and allowed for information gathering in real time. For many respondents, in a world where Twitter reigns supreme, traditional news outlets do not have time to twist a story or perpetuate a certain narrative steeped in Anti-Blackness. Quotations to illustrate this concept are located below.

Michelle, Black female:

I find Twitter to be most credible, especially the first-hand accounts and videos. I know videos can be altered, but there is something about seeing videos that makes it more real. There is less time for someone to flip a story. I also think seeing it in real time takes away any bias. I believe it’s the most raw material I can consume. Seeing is believing. See for yourself.

Chad, Black male:

I definitely prefer videos on Twitter over hearsay or the news. I don’t trust the news. Anyone can make up a story. But videos serve as solid evidence. I think that’s important because there are lots of cases where people are killed by police and we wouldn’t have any evidence if it weren’t for videos on Twitter. The fact that its documented and we can see how things happened. It helps.

Imani, Black female:

Twitter is more authentic. I know all sources have an agenda, but at least my followers have an agenda of awareness. I don’t think most media sources have that same agenda. Especially now. (DH: Can you elaborate? Why do you say that) Do I even have to say it (laughter) chile, Trump! It has gone wild. The news is not the news. They want clicks, views, and money. Twitter is more like yo, some shit JUST went down. I can follow what exactly is happening in real-time. No waiting. Little commentary. Just me, my phone, and police brutality. (pause; looks) That sounds terrible. (pauses again) Just me, my phone, and learning about police brutality.

It is important to note that of the 27 interviewees, only two indicated any trust in television news. For the respondents, major news networks often told the perspective and story of the privileged. When asked probing questions about fact-checking and gathering more information, most interviewees indicated their desire for print media as opposed to television news as a form of fact-checking.

Mary, Black female:

I go to Google to fact check. As soon as I hear a case, I go to google to see who else is reporting. New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, even Teen Vogue has started to get more political. I try to find articles instead of clips because most of the time, I’ve seen the clips already on Twitter. I compare the articles to the videos or tweets I saw already.

Corey, Black male:

TV gives competing interpretations and things get muddled easily. So I go more to print news. Washington Post, New York Times. The Atlantic. During Ferguson, I followed the St Louis Dispatch a lot cause it’s close to St Louis obviously. I think it’s good practice to try to find local sources after the incident has made national news. From my experience, they will continue to report on the issue long after national outlets have left.

This finding is situated around two key tenets of CRT. First, the turn to Black Twitter is a clear rejection of the dominant media narrative that often uplifts White Supremacy. Black Twitter serves as a space and place where minorities bring their own unique understandings of and experiences related to race and police brutality, this is known as the voice of color thesis.

Twitter: Role of Retweeting/Sharing

Respondents were remarkably consistent in their responses, producing themes that appeared in virtually every interview. However, there was one area that generated some disagreement among respondents. Analysis revealed some discrepancies regarding the role of a retweet and/or the desire to share graphic images, stories or videos of police brutality. There were disagreements between interviewees as some believed it was their duty to retweet graphic videos/images as a function of awareness. On the other hand, others claimed retweeting gruesome images was insensitive, embarrassing, unnecessary, and traumatizing. The juxtaposition of such beliefs can be seen in the excerpts below.

Corey, Black male:

I get it. I get that it can be traumatic to watch. Especially as a Black American. It’s a tough spot, but I think we have to share so people are aware. People can take a story and run with it, but with a video, it holds people accountable. It makes them realize, no, this is happening, and its happening to people like me.

Imani, Black female:

(pause) At first, I did. I used to retweet and share every picture, video, article. But when it became so frequent, I didn’t want to anymore. I guess (pause) it was just hard to keep up with them all. I could not handle my own page being filled with Black death. (pause) That sounds so dramatic and sad but that’s what it was. What it is. Think about it . . . have you ever seen a White body dead and bloody on Twitter?

Troy, Black male:

Sharing videos can hurt. The shit can be embarrassing and I have been a victim of brutality before. I wouldn’t want nobody to see my video unless it came directly from me. Nobody wants that attention. Nobody wants people to know cops whooped them.

The quotations above represent interviewees who made a clear decision. Still, several respondents reported being torn, going back and forth on the role of retweeting, posing the question, what type of information can be justifiably shared?

Tiffany, Black female:

I’m torn. I recognize that there could be triggering material. Its someone’s death on display. Over and over again. Day and day. These videos will never go away. It’s different if you’re talking to someone, because you can gauge their feelings and emotions, but if you are on Twitter and have mass exposure, I think we need to be more careful about what we share. I only share if the original account asks us to share. Philando Castile, I didn’t share that. I did not want to see a man dying, while a 2-year-old was sobbing in the background asking her mother to stop crying. But I do want people to know that’s it’s there.

Nichole, Black female:

I have now become more conscious about what I share. I will only share articles. There are certain things that I can’t get out my mind. I remember when Mike Brown’s body, his dead body was on the ground for 4 hours after he was shot. I remember Sandra Bland’s mugshot and people said she was dead. She had no expression in her eyes. I remember seeing Eric Garner getting choked out. I remember hearing Philando Castile’s daughter crying and telling her mom to be quiet because she didn’t want her to get shot too. I just . . . . (pause) my personal experience, it’s not things I want to be responsible for people seeing. If it’s on my page, I have to see it and I don’t want to see stuff like that anymore. But I do my best to share the articles because I don’t want my discomfort to hurt awareness of the movement. I have friends that say being uncomfortable is part of the job, but I tell them sis, that’s not a job I signed up for.

Others articulated different reasons why they chose not to retweet or share certain things. For example, some feared they had become desensitized, and some voiced a visceral disdain for law enforcement that is fueled by consuming videos and pictures of police brutality on Twitter.

Chad Black male:

When I come across things, I share them only if they are deemed shareable. I don’t think everything is supposed to be shared. Things can get a little too graphic, but I understand spreading awareness is important. I’m used to it now. Sadly, I see a video and am like well here we go again. I’m numb almost.

Meka, Black female:

I’m afraid we are getting numb to graphic stuff and that makes me scared. Seeing a lot of blood gush out of someone or seeing someone get choked to death, who would want to watch that? It has become normal and that is so scary to me. Seeing someone die on camera on Twitter should not ever be normal.

Discussion

Using phenomenological interviews, this is one of the first qualitative studies to document how Black interviewees use Twitter to communicate about and share information related to police brutality. It builds off a rich literature base surrounding Black Twitter overall but adds nuance and uniqueness as it illuminates the issue of police brutality specifically. This is important because police brutality and BLM research complement each other but are distinct. However, it is important to note that nearly all of the findings reflect increased agency for the Black community, and findings from this study illuminate how Black Twitter is a counter public that places power and communication about police brutality back into the hands of Black users. Black individuals no longer have to face gatekeepers or are subjected to exclusively dominant narratives; Black Twitter allows for Black narratives, Black problems, and Black experiences to be centered. The findings of this study warrant further analysis and discussion.

Implications

As previously articulated, analysis from this study adds to an already robust literature base surrounding Black Twitter, social movements, and the importance of racial analysis on digital platforms (Agudelo & Olbrych, 2022; Brock, 2020; Florini, 2014; Taylor, 2022; Wellman, 2022). However, this study centers on the experience of police brutality, an issue often void of scholarly interest. Analysis from this specific study yields three significant findings: (1) Black Twitter’s role as a digital archive and tool of collective memory related to police brutality, (2) Black Twitter as a digital counter-culture that actively fights against dominant narratives of police brutality, and (3) Twitter as a place of collective trauma.

First, let’s unpack the importance of Black Twitter as a tool of collective memory and digital archive. Findings from this study clearly highlight the prominence of Twitter in gathering and circulating information about police brutality; therefore, I contend that Black Twitter is a user-driven platform that allows Black users to document and archive information about police brutality in a relatively easy way; this is drastically different from previous years where one may have had to clip newspapers or record TV clips in real time. Social media has made it easier for Black users to gather information about multiple cases of police brutality simultaneously. Also, it is important to note that the type of information circulated has also now changed. Social media allows for almost anyone to directly document brutality and circulate videos, instead of media outlets.

Twitter is also the place where videos of police brutality first emerge; in turn, because of repeated exposure and heightened visibility, it becomes virtually impossible to ignore the pattern. The impact of police brutality frequently relies on the use of recordings and video evidence. For example, the outrage surrounding Rodney King was directly related to having video evidence (Saniforenzo, 2021), and this was also true with George Floyd. Similar to the legacy of Rodney King, instead of camcorders, I argue that Black Twitter is an essential tool of the Black community’s collective and public memory because it provides cultural anchors and experiences of Blackness as it relates to brutality. Black Twitter can serve as an authentic repository of police brutality. Black Twitter has a firm place in the collective memory of contemporary Black culture; this is especially true for police brutality because Twitter is one of the rare places where the experiences and opinions of the Black perspective are centered. This finding becomes increasingly important as there continue to be reports of Black surveillance on Twitter (Biddle, 2020) and Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter could have a disproportionate impact on the Black community (Girdwood et al., 2022).

Next, analysis from this study reinforces the notion that Black Twitter is a digital counter-culture that actively fights against dominant narratives of police brutality, and, therefore, is of the utmost importance. For many, Twitter is the place for race-based advocacy; highlights from this study show how Black Twitter rejects dominant discourse in various ways. On the one hand, the desire to find information on Black Twitter first was a direct response to interviewees being unhappy with or, worse, being offended by, television news coverage. I argue that this counterculture positions Twitter as a place of empowerment and advocacy.

Not only does this study indicate that the interviewees turn to Twitter first for videos and stories of police brutality, but it also highlights Twitter as a unique form of gathering competing information and holding law enforcement officers accountable. Twitter is a place of Black empowerment. Thus, Twitter is simultaneously the place to gather evidence but also directly refute the dominant narrative. For example, while graphic, many interviewees explicitly stated how crucial it was that Philando’s death was captured on video because this evidence would be vital to holding officers accountable. Despite a marred relationship with the platform, Black Twitter remains a site of cultural resilience, communication, and mobilization.

Finally, the final finding related to the dilemma of retweeting highlights how social media can impact the mental health of Black Americans. Twitter is a simultaneous site of Black empowerment, but also, a space where Black trauma runs rampant. Multiple respondents revealed complex, visceral reactions to images and videos of Black bodies slayed by the police. Ample previous research (Hawkins, 2022, Bryant-Davis et al., 2017; Lipscomb et al., 2019) discusses the impact of police violence and its traumatic effects on Black Americans. Previous research (Hawkins, 2022) indicates that Black interviewees report a constant fear of dying and hyper-alertness after encountering cases of police brutality on social media. This strong reaction happens even when the brutality victim was a complete stranger. Yet, little research discusses social media’s role, and obligation, in the process of sharing information and circulating knowledge about police brutality. This is a clear area ripe for future research-what is Twitter’s responsibility in ensuring the mental health of its Black users while simultaneously respecting the platform’s prominence as a communication tool related to police brutality?

Limitations and Future Research

As with any study, the findings of this ought to be interpreted with limitations. First, despite conducting member checks and ensuring triangulation, the data analysis relied on one coder, but different researchers may code interviews in vastly different ways (Yaghi, 2018). Next, as with any qualitative study utilizing interviews, the findings are not designed to be generalized; instead, they only represent the lived experiences and realities of the 27 participants.

However, even with limitations in mind, the study gave voice to a marginalized population, and in turn, multiple avenues for future research are clear. First, more research could be conducted to explore the intersection of BLM and police brutality; interestingly, the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” did not appear much in the quotations. This is true despite police brutality being one of the campaign’s most visible asks. Second, additional research could be conducted to understand better why Twitter is the preferred platform compared to other social media channels; further analysis to understand how various social media platforms intersect on the issue of police brutality could also be conducted. Finally, when discussing the critical finding of mental health, more research is needed to better understand why Black Americans possess such an intense level of grief and trauma when the victim of brutality is not immediately known to them; the level of communal ties and collective trauma found on Twitter seem to be inextricably linked.

Conclusion

Police brutality is an issue that disproportionately impacts the Black community, yet scholarly research dedicated to the timely issue is sparse. Applying Critical Race Theory, this qualitative study captured how 27 Black Americans interact with Black Twitter as a primary communication and information tool related to police brutality. Analysis revealed that Twitter is a vital communication channel for the Black community but also a place of psychological distress.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Deion S. Hawkins

Author Biography

Deion S. Hawkins, PhD (George Mason University), is an assistant professor of Argumentation & Advocacy and the Director of Debate at Emerson College. Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), his current research operates at the intersection of intercultural and health communication. As a former first-generation student who is now a professor, Dr Hawkins is committed to using his educational privilege to uplift our most systemically disenfranchised and underserved populations.

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