Petitions 101:

I’d like to make everything in the right column an infographic, please! ——————————————->>>>>

Q: What is the legitimacy of online petitions? What about "text Floyd" to "this number" to "sign this petition" to "get the guys arrested"? Where do these petitions go, and who are the people behind them? Do they actually make a difference, do politicians ever see them, or are they just data collections masked as activism? 

— Cara, Los Angeles, CA

Tangle: This is an awesome question, and one I’ve received in different forms from a number of readers (so consider this a wholesale answer!).

The answer, like most questions in Tangle, is not simple. First and foremost I should say that it’s really a case-by-case basis. I can’t say “all petitions are good” or “all petitions are bad,” and I certainly can’t tell you where the petitions or texts you’re signing go. However, your question about whether “they are just data collections masked as activism” is actually — in part — the answer.

Online petitions are, as we speak, being researched, studied, and written about in books and scholarly articles by sociologists and other researchers. The consensus on whether they work as a whole is split because some do effect change and others don’t. However, what we do know is that petitions serve as a ground floor for more activism — and in that sense, they’re incredibly effective.

Think of it this way: putting 100,000 signatures on a Change.org petition doesn’t just send a message to a legislator, corporation or body of other sort — it also collects 100,000 names and email addresses unified for a cause. That means the organizers of those petitions can (and do!) reach out to those 100,000 people and try to inspire them to another form of activism. They can be leveraged to raise money, join in-person protests, or apply maximum pressure on politicians in their local areas.

The classic example of a successful online petition campaign was the pressure to stop the Keystone Pipeline during President Obama’s term. Millions of signatures turned into hundreds of thousands of protesters which turned into thousands of activists on the ground opposing the pipeline locally. But the petition was effective because it had a clear strategy and goal: President Obama’s signature was needed to approve the pipeline, the petition could stop him with political pressure.

Signing a petition to “end climate change” is a pointless act of “slacktivism.” Signing a petition to oppose the Keystone Pipeline is a far more effective way to build political pressure. In the latter case, the number of signatures on the petition was a news story itself — so the campaign turned into a media craze because we had direct evidence so many people cared about stopping this pipeline from being built.

Texts are sort of the next step in this model. If you’re getting a text message on your phone, it’s because your data or information is already in the hands of someone who wants to leverage your political leanings. If you’re sending a text message, you’re handing that data over. And if the issue is something you care about, it’s probably a calculated risk — or an intentional act — to stay involved in an issue.

Here’s another good example: when Cecil the lion was killed by an American dentist in Zimbabwe, petitions erupted across the U.S. Some of the petitions basically said “this is awful, this dentist sucks.” Hundreds of thousands of people signed them. That’s an example of a bad, pointless petition. But many of those signatories were then targeted for another petition, this one calling on airlines to ban the transportation of endangered animals. This was a targeted policy change with a specific objective. And it worked. Several airlines updated their policies. When Delta Airlines was slow to act, those same signees were targeted for a petition specifically about Delta — and that worked, too.

If you’re presented with a petition or text campaign, I’d take some time to make sure it’s something you want to support — and coming from a group you trust. There’s no harm in taking 10 minutes to research the people behind the petition or text campaign, and you’ll probably end up learning more about the cause on the way. Ask yourself if there’s a clear objective, if the people behind it seem trustworthy, if you think change could be effected, and do it all with the understanding you will probably be added to a list and contacted for money, more support, etc.

All told, petitions and online campaigns have a long history of being effective. But it’s not because of the petition in a vacuum — it’s because they lead to media coverage, more activism, fundraising, and more organized protesting.