Navigating identity through social media: Twitter use of Muslim-American nonprofits

Abstract

Social media enables nonprofits to communicate with stakeholders. Literature has primarily focused on the social media communication of mostly large and secular nonprofit organisations. This study contributes to this literature by looking at nonprofits’ social media activity belonging to religious minorities, specifically the Muslim-American nonprofit sector. Using Lovejoy and Saxton’s (2012) Hierarchy of Engagement framework, we find that Muslim-American nonprofits conventionally use social media for information, community, and action messaging. However, these nonprofits also utilise social media to encourage religious practices and strongly advocate for Muslim rights. We also find that organisational identity affects social media framing as organisational type affects the type of topics these organisations pick to advocate on social media. Moreover, organisational size also affects social media activity, as smaller organisations are more likely to use social media for fundraising purposes.