Search This Blog

Friday 16 May 2014

Michelle Obama's "#BringBackOurGirls" Campaign Backfires


One of the biggest current affairs stories in recent weeks to grace news headlines across the world is that of the abduction of over 200 girls in Nigeria by the Islamic militant organisation Boko Haram. This currently ongoing situation has been condemned by political leaders from all corners of the globe (AYTD does also btw) - with a number of them offering to help the Nigerian government's efforts in finding the girls and bringing them back to freedom and safety.


Bringing them back... this segways superbly into the catchphrase that instantly became a viral mantra to further bring the story to the forefront and really put pressure on Boko Haram to relent. US First Lady Michelle Obama made her voice heard on this subject via venturing down the social media route. She tweeted:  "Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls. - mo", along with an accompanying photo of herself in the White House brandishing the hashtag on a piece of paper. Numerous famous figures both in and out of the political realm rushed to show their support; from David Cameron to Puff Daddy.

Despite gaining the level of momentum an advertising agency has wet dreams of, it took little more time than an acne-riddled basement-dwelling nerd losing his virginity for the #BringBackOurGirls campaign to take a turn for the worse. The same platform of social media was used when the Michelle Obama's original image was "shopped" - where her message was erased and replaced with various statements, many highlighting the US' own terrible record of foreign policy such as these below:
 

Never one to miss a chance at jumping on a bandwagon let alone wasting time talking about psuedo-political trends whilst more important things are going on. AYTD decided to participate in this mild diversion by coming up with some hashtags of our own which we'd like to see being brought back.