A survey of political causes being promoted through social media has revealed that a Facebook page promoting marriage equality is the biggest political campaign on social media in Australia.
The Facebook group ‘Gay Marriage Rights in Australia’ was the most popular political Facebook page in Australia, and among the top 50 Facebook pages in the country. The survey was conducted by independent media monitoring site YourSocialMonitor.com. The page currently has 213,000 followers and in the last week has reached over 1.4 million people.
Ben Cooper, founder of the Facebook page felt that for many of the pages followers this may be their first experience on political activism.
“Our page has been pivotal in engaging young people in this campaign – many of whom had no previous involvement in social activism prior to liking our page. The very fact that Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has highlighted young people as one of his main reasons for supporting marriage equality really shows just how successful our page has become in building support for, and bring about marriage equality in Australia,” said Mr Cooper.
Advocates from Australian Marriage Equality agreed the support of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had re-activated the campaign for change.
“Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd’s, support for marriage equality has resulted in a remarkably positive reaction online.” said Mr Ivan Hinton, Deputy Director of Australian Marriage Equality. Mr Hinton argued that the issue has widespread support across the community.
“It is another reminder to federal election candidates that supporting marriage equality is one of the most effective ways they can reach out to young voters. The engagement and enthusiasm of the wider community on the page clearly shows the broad support there is for change and the frustration that many everyday Australians feel because progress is too slow.”
OIP Staff, Image: Stock Image
