Digital Activism, Safety and Inaccessibility : RejectFinanceBill2024 Case Study

Abstract

In 2024 a series of digitally organized protests, named #RejectFinanceBill2024, took place across 42 Kenyan counties. Material for protest participation were shared as images on social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter(X) and Instagram. Protest demands highlighted the growing economic strife and the excessive use of force by the Kenyan police. Although protest goals focused on the alleviation of economic burdens for all Kenyans, disability rights organizations urged people to stop protesting due to safety concerns. This thesis used the RejectFinanceBill2024 digitally shared protest material to investigate the accessibility considerations made during the protest. Participant testing was paired with POUR method accessibility analysis to under stand the impacts of accessibility on material readability and safety. The results from the thesis indicate accessibility’s minimal influence on the readability of material by (non) disabled audiences. Further, the results reflect a lack of clarity in the communication of the safety instructions on the #RejectFinaceBill2024 protest promotional material. The findings from the thesis suggest the need for accessibility guidelines specific to activist material for the promotion of audience safety and increased material readability.