Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1322776
NEWS Christmas specials 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 DECEMBER 2020 Facebook Live and all other social media apps with a livestreaming feature have given rise to a new army of 'influencers' and Z-list celebrities whose gift of the gab (and big mouths) propelled them to centre-stage KARL AZZOPARDI SOCIAL media played a domi- nant role in our lives well before March 2020, but the pandem- ic year highlighted the growth of one of Facebook's most ground-breaking features in the country. Driven to their homes, people used social media to stay con- nected with friends and family members, making lockdown a tad more bearable. The COV- ID-19 pandemic also brought people closer to the phenome- non of Facebook Live on their mobile and computer screens. On 5 August 2015, Facebook launched Live on a limited ba- sis to celebrities with a verified page, starting with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. The fea- ture went on to be a big hit, with users from around the world. While slow to pick up locally, the feature grew in the last years with the 2017 elec- tions and the 2019 political cri- sis that shook the nation. But even without cataclysmic events dictating the agenda, Facebook Live and all other social media apps with a lives- treaming feature gave rise to a new army of 'influencers' and Z-list celebrities whose gift of the gab (and big mouths) pro- pelled them to centre-stage. One of them was Marsa res- ident Adrian Zammit, aka 'Bebbuxu', who unsuccessful- ly contested the Marsa local elections as an independent. Since then, he has broadcast a Facebook livestream on Mon- days, Wednesdays and Fridays where he takes phone-calls while getting ready to eat un- thinkable proportions of meat straight from the frying pan. With his trusty bulldog Goffy by his side, the outspoken con- struction worker waxes lyrical about local issues while 'dining' and serving his furry mate gen- erous helpings from his plate. Goaded by callers to talk about all issues – abortion, racism, wages... – Zammit has become a fixture on the social media roster of entertainers. Many others have taken note, such as Annabelle Zammit's 'Belle Liveshows' or Terry Muscat's 'Zija TT'. Previous- ly, Terry Muscat was simply known as one the Nationalist Party's most ardent supporters in the diehard Labour strong- hold of Bormla. Facebook Live turned a person only seen on the margins of partisan events, into a celebrity of sorts. Starting off from the comfort of their own home, this new breed of wannabe influencers (ultimately their brands are problematic and not attractive enough for the world of com- merce) is taking the social me- dia world by storm, creating a loyal following. Their influence has become so widespread that tabloid news portals like Stradarjali and Gwida regu- larly feature inconsequential reports on their most inane of suggestions. Facebook Live has been cru- cial for government entities, parties and politicians, as well as the press, to discharge their duties and broadcast events. Unfortunately, the feature has also served as a platform for far-right groups and acolytes who in the COVID-19 pan- demic were even eager to prop themselves up as vaccine scep- tics. Anti-immigrant firebrand Anton Cutajar is one keen us- er of Facebook Live, with his shouty, angry-white-man out- bursts on immigration, the Na- tionalist opposition and civil society activists, animal libera- tionists and critics in the press, being frequent targets. Cutajar picketed the Black Lives Mat- ter demonstration in February 2020 and has used his platform to prop up protagonists inside Labour's right-wing, such as Neville Gafà – as well as far- right sympathisers like Ray- mond Ambrogio, and a regular coterie of Moviment Patriotti hangers-on. With sweeping statements and misinforma- tion building false narratives on foreigners in the country, the use of Facebook Live allows these people to bypass tradi- tional restrictions on main- stream broadcasters so as not to be challenged, or to issue 'edicts' against journalists and media houses for calling out their views. The phenomenon will only continue to grow as viewership increases and advertisers step in. The introduction of the feature into other social me- dia platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter will also mean that as users get more ac- customed to it, more effort will be put into producing content via livestreaming. kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt 'Live'-ing through the pandemic Their influence has become so widespread that tabloid news portals like Stradarjali and Gwida regularly feature inconsequential reports on their most inane of suggestions Zookeeper and anti-immigrant firebrand Anton Cutajar (left) makes his laborious point, Bormla superstar and inveterate Nationalist Party supporter Terry Muscat strikes a pose (centre), and (right) it's all in a day's work for construction worker Adrian Zammit, who livestreams regularly some three times a week, usually at dinner time