Stephanie Worsop: The perils of social media when you get it wrong

Navigating the mercurial world of social media. Photo / Getty Images

COMMENT:

Social media can be a bit like a 16th-century mercurial monarch.

If you say the right things, back the right trends and avoid any controversy, your star will be on the rise.

A world of adoring fans, business collaborations and constant praise, once reserved only for the highest level of celebrity, sits neatly in your palms.

But one wrong step, one miscalculated comment, one joke that didn't land correctly and everything you built, the esteem of your online peers, disappears in one fell swoop.

Suddenly you're being ridiculed, abused and if your transgression is considered offensive enough, you face the social media equivalent of being beheaded - you're cancelled.

The popularity and fame social media can give you can just as easily be taken away in the court of your peers.

With the tumultuous year 2020 has been, people are on edge, more sensitive and less forgiving so we are seeing more social media influencers and celebrities fall from grace.

Several TikTok influencers were called out for fabricating their involvement in Black Lives Matter protests, posing for photos at the site of protests before getting in their car and leaving.

Others have been cancelled over their use of a racial slur or the alleged grooming of underage teens.

These examples, in my opinion, are clear cut. These influencers risk living their lives online so when their actions don't stand up to scrutiny, they have to face the consequences.

However, cases where the intention was well-meaning but didn't strike the right chord, are less clear-cut.

Among the trends to come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, celebrities and influencers alike started posting black squares on their Instagrams.

This was initially applauded and those at the beginning of the trend received thousands of "likes".

However, once the trend went viral, public opinion changed and those same influencers and celebrities were berated for clogging up newsfeeds and inadvertently preventing black creators from being seen.

The now infamous Imagine cover, led by actress Gal Gadot in March was, I suspect, intended to be a rallying video in the face of Covid-19, but instead came across as tone deaf and an attempt to appear altruistic without actually doing anything.

Closer to home, a video posted by Te Māngai Pāho involving Māori TikTok influencers for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori has been blasted for saying the Māori language was over.

It was meant to be satire, similar to Taika Waititi's video on racism, but instead, viewers took their views literally, saying it was offensive and disrespectful.

As reported this week, in this instance, the fall from grace had real-world implications as well, as New Zealand First's Shane Jones calls for Te Māngai Pāho's board and chief executive to be sacked for funding the video.

The intention was there. Had they pulled it off successfully, the masses would be singing their praises.

But that's the nature of social media. It is a harsh place where your stock can rise and fall in an instant.