Beyonce and the Confederate Flag

In the wake of the Charleston church massacre in June 2015, rumors began circulating that in an attempt to eliminate the confederate flag from modern day use, Beyoncé and her husband, Jay Z, were intent of buying the rights to the confederate flag in order to control its sell.  This story began to gain much ground as people everywhere praised Beyonce for attempting to eradicate such a graphic symbol of hate.  It was late revealed however, that such a news story was indeed false, and that Beyonce and Jay Z had no real intentions of buying the rights to the confederate flag.

            This rumor, despite its grandiose claim, circulated quickly due to its believable context.  This story came prior to Beyonce’s release of Lemonade, yet people still associated her with signs of activism.  Had the story claimed that anyone besides Beyonce had the intent to address white supremacy in this way, then the believability factor would have dropped.  When people think of Beyonce, they think of her standing on a stage as the word “Feminist” flashes behind her, they think of her confidence and charisma, and they think of her power.  Beyonce and Jay Z purchasing the rights of the confederate flag presents a story of a powerful and talented couple, reclaiming the symbol used to spread intolerance and hatred.  The fake article about such an occurrence is not bold in its claim, rather it is important in that in links Beyonce, a public, well admired figure with the idea of change.  If Beyonce serves as the voice of a generation and is then used to promote activist policies, then the activist ideologies are able to spread further, because Beyonce herself has blessed said beliefs and wisdom. Using Beyonce’s voice in the fake article highlights a form of propaganda in that it gets young individuals to consider that if their idol is set on leaving behind the confederate flag, then one is more likely to share those same sentiments. The name of Beyonce has enough power and influence and even a fake article has the ability to gain ground in terms of a call to activism.