How social media users experience museum posting on social issues

Abstract

ABSTRACT In summer 2020, many museums posted on their social media accounts statements of solidarity with the anti-racism and Black Lives Matter protests spread out in the USA and worldwide, despite their overall reluctance to engage in debates on contemporary social issues. To provide insights into how social media users stand toward museum posting on social issues, this paper presents findings from a study conducted in summer 2020, for MoMA’s official social media accounts, and museums in general. Employing surveys, online interviews, and an analysis of users’ comments, this study reveals what people think, feel, and how they respond toward MoMA’s approach to engage on social media with contemporary events, standing against racism, abuse, violence, and injustice. It also comments on the direction that museums could follow to tackle social issues through their social media accounts and proposes a methodology to assess how social media posts are being received by users.