MEDIA
NBC NEWS
JULY 4, 2021
A TikTok Strike Highlighted Issues of Compensation and Race in the Creator Economy
By: Kalhan Rosenblatt
Article Preview: "Maragh-Lloyd said unfair labor and compensation practices are not new with the advent of the creator economy and influencer culture, but date back decades and touch every facet of our culture from film to music to fashion. She added that while appropriation and the co-opting of Black creativity in some industries and platforms is more obvious, apps like TikTok are somewhat more complicated."
JOURNAL OF CINEMA AND MEDIA STUDIES
SUMMER 2021
Scholar Spotlight
Interviewed by: Dr. TreaAndrea M. Russworm
Article Preview:
Russworm: Given your research on unconventional practices of resistance that are now more evident in our engagements with digital media (such as using self-care as a tool), have you seen any practices that have emerged or resurfaced as a result of the compounding realities of anti-Black racism, protest movements like Black Lives Matter, and the COVID-19 pandemic?
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Maragh-Lloyd: Yes, absolutely. I think we’re starting to see more visibility and acceptance of care online, importantly, as part of radical resistance. For example, care can look like widespread disengagement with social media. The hashtag #BlackOutTuesday, for instance, originated from two Black women in the music industry and encouraged users to post a blacked-out screen to call attention to anti-Black racism and the toll it takes on Black people. I think this particular hashtag resonated with users and caught on so quickly on platforms like Instagram because users, and Black folks in particular, found solace in the blank screen. There’s something to be said about the inundation of information we receive online about our sisters’ and brothers’ violent killings. Care, in this case, looked like a kind of communal permission to close our eyes and rest—if even for just a moment.
BUSINESS INSIDER
AUGUST 20, 2021
Sex Workers Who Earn Thousands on OnlyFans Say It's Unclear How the Company Will Enforce Its 'Disgusting' Porn Ban — And Some May Leave the Platform Because of It
By: Kat Tenbarge, Allana Akhtar
Article Preview: "Marginalized-worker-friendly digital platforms have a harder time finding mainstream popularity, according to Raven Maragh-Lloyd, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of the upcoming book "Reshaping Black Resistance: Strategic Rearticulations in the Digital Age." Black creators, who have long created popular content for sites like Twitter and TikTok, made Black Planet to ensure marginalized workers could be at the forefront of the business. But the platform has not gained mainstream popularity, Maragh-Lloyd said."