Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Education is a cornerstone of PETA’s work for animals, and there’s no better tool for imparting information to today’s consumers than social media.
It’s thanks to our social media team that PETA has been recognized as the most engaged-with advocacy organization on Twitter and Facebook, a title that includes groups that focus on non-animal causes. PETA’s followers don’t just view our posts—they also like, comment on, and share our unique content, ensuring that even more users are aware of what animals experience at the hands of humans. Below, we take a closer look at the ways in which our innovative work on social media is winning victories for animals.
A handful of posts on PETA’s recent exposé of The Pet Blood Bank, Inc.—a hellish facility where approximately 150 greyhounds languished in filth so that they could be used for their blood—generated over 1 million views on Facebook. Thousands of compassionate people expressed outrage about the abuse within this blood-bank, which was virtually unknown before PETA exposed it.
Their awareness and anger quickly made a difference. Within weeks, The Pet Blood Blank announced that it would close its doors and transfer the dogs to adoption programs. Shortly after this, the National Greyhound Association adopted a long-overdue policy on blood banks—where dogs exploited in the racing industry sometimes end up—and barred its members from directly sending dogs to any blood-bank operation.
Two posts about the misleadingly named Summer Wind Farms Sanctuary—where a PETA eyewitness documented what a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector called a “culture of indifference” toward animal welfare—garnered nearly 1.5 million views. The Michigan roadside zoo had been cited for more than 200 animal-welfare violations in just three years, and less than two months after PETA publicly exposed the conditions at the facility, the USDA ordered the sham sanctuary to close its doors.
There’s little doubt that without PETA’s exposés and work to spread the information online, animals would still be languishing at both facilities.
PETA social media correspondents work around the clock to respond to those who comment on our posts or contact us, showing users that we’re here to help them go vegan or stay the humane course. Our followers often tell us about the impact that our posts have had on their lives—and on the lives of the animals helped as a result of their kindness. PETA’s message of compassion reaches an even larger, more diverse audience through our communications with celebrities and their tweets supporting our work, and their substantial influence over fans and followers encourages not-yet-vegans to consider the impact that their choices have on animals.
Social media has given PETA a way to engage directly with supporters and supporters-to-be, and it’s our unmatched ability to inform and inspire that helps make us such a powerful force for change. If you haven’t done so already, please “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to help us make the world a better place for animals.
