The Path to 2 Million @Amnesty Followers

June 3, 2016

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@Amnesty is now over 2 million followers strong. Together, we’ve changed lives and freed prisoners. As with the Amnesty movement of the past 55 years, we’ve gotten here by individual after individual standing up and shining a light, inspiring others to stand with them.

Thanks to social media, the world we live in is getting smaller and smaller – and the more interconnected we are, the harder it will be for human rights violations to go unnoticed.

Let’s take a look back on key moments in our online awareness and activism.

1) We joined Everytown for Gun Safety to promote National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Our tweets for the day reached 524,135 impressions and brought significant attention to this critical human rights crisis.

 

2) On World Press Freedom Day 2016, our tweet was retweeted 1,232 times. Three weeks later, journalist Khadija Ismayilova in Azerbaijan was freed, marking another victory in the fight for freedom of expression.

 

3) We celebrated the release of Albert Woodfox. After 44 years of solitary confinement, he was able to finally come home. 

 

4) After much pressure, the White House finally agrees to block transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia that have gone on to kill civilians in Yemen.

 

5) On Human Rights Day 2015, we witnessed immense global success for our Write for Rights campaign. Over 265,624 actions were takenWe believe the steps you took helped free Albert Woodfox, Phyoe Phyoe Aung, and put pressure on Burkina Faso to commit to new laws that would eradicate forced and early marriage.

 

6) Edward Snowden joins twitter and the fight for online transparency.

 

7) Sophia Bush demands action on rape case in India with Amnesty International.

 

8) Chelsea Manning mentions @Amnesty for standing up for human rights.

Thank you for following, engaging with us and taking action! We look forward to your continued support and even more victories in the fight for human rights.