KHive
#KHive is the hashtag used by an informal online community supporting Kamala Harris, the 49th Vice President of the United States. The term KHive, pronounced K-Hive, also refers to that online community. It is not formally affiliated with the campaign. The community formed prior to and during her 2020 presidential campaign as an effort to defend Harris from racist and sexist attacks and misinformation. The movement has been cited as an example of social media fandom or stan culture.
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District Attorney of San Francisco
Attorney General of California
U.S. Senator from California
Vice President of the United States
Published works
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Origins
Sources vary on the coinage of the term. The Daily Dot said Joy Reid first used the term in August 2017 in a tweet saying "@DrJasonJohnson @ZerlinaMaxwell and I had a meeting and decided it's called the K-Hive."[1] Reecie Colbert, a prominent member of the movement, told Bakari Sellers she believed Bianca Delarosa coined the term[2] but disputed a claim by Delarosa that she was “the only one who speaks for KHive.”[3] She said the movement had no formal leaders but was "just a bunch of really scrappy accounts on Twitter, on social media."[2]
Usage of the hashtag increased in August 2018,[4] before Harris had announced her presidential candidacy but after she told MSNBC's Kasie Hunt that she was "not ruling it out."[5] As of July 2019, while Harris was in her presidential campaign, 38,000 Twitter accounts had used the hashtag and according to Vox "accrued an estimated 360 million impressions".[4] The hashtag is a reference to #BeyHive, which is a group of Beyoncé fans.[6][4][7]
The movement has been cited as an example of social media fandom or stan culture.[4][7][8]
Activity
The community formed prior to and during Harris's 2020 presidential campaign as an effort to defend her from racist and sexist attacks and debunk misinformation.[4][6][7][9][10] It is not formally affiliated with the campaign.[4]
Organizing platform Mobilize said Harris' digital team "was able to draw her community of online supporters, also known as the KHive, off the internet and into the volunteer ecosystem, where they could advocate on behalf of the campaign, call potential voters, and host events".[11]
When Harris endorsed Joe Biden in March 2020, the Biden campaign released a video in which Biden asks Harris if the #KHive will support him.[7]
In September 2020, Alanna Vagianos, writing for The Huffington Post, observed that "as with most loosely-organized online groups, it does not have a unified set of tactics, and bad actors are hard or impossible to control."[3] Examples of cyber-harassment from KHive members include a recent high school graduate who supported Sanders being told they should be "raped in a gas chamber by MAGA nazis" by a volunteer organizer for the Harris campaign, a homosexual supporter of Elizabeth Warren being told that "Warren gays should be chemically castrated" by a KHive member, and a Navy veteran who supported Sanders receiving at least 15 calls to her employer by KHive members and having a false child protective services report filed against her, accusing her of abusing her 17-month-old son.[3] According to Vagianos, "Nearly all of the people HuffPost spoke with said much of the harassment they experienced started with Delarosa."[3] In response to the article, Sabrina Singh, the press secretary for Kamala Harris, stated "The campaign does not condone doxxing, derogatory language or harassment of any kind."[3]
According to Wired, the organization was expected to be helpful to the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign.[11] According to Newsy, the strength of the relationship between KHive and Harris could be used to force Biden to take Harris' point of view seriously.[9] Kimberly Peeler-Allen of Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics told Newsy that "the urge to stick with the status quo and the same voices around the table is extremely strong, so it will take the #KHive and coalition work all across the board to make sure that Senator Harris' voice is definitely heard and taken into account."[9]
Related hashtags
Harris's supporters also use the hashtag #WeGotHerBack.[6][11] Followers of her husband on social media call themselves the #DougHive.[12]
See also
References
- "What Is the K-Hive, Kamala Harris' Online Twitter Support?". The Daily Dot. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- Sellers, Bakari (August 17, 2020). "Welcome to the #KHive With Reecie Colbert, Chris Evans, and Julie Zebrak". The Ringer. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- "Kamala Harris Has A Vibrant Online Fan Club. But It Also Has A Toxic Side". The Huffington Post. September 25, 2020.
- Zhou, Li (July 25, 2019). "The #KHive, Kamala Harris's most devoted online supporters, explained". Vox. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- Shelbourne, Mallory (June 25, 2018). "Kamala Harris on 2020 presidential bid: 'I'm not ruling it out'". TheHill. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- Zakrzewski, Cat (August 13, 2020). "Kamala Harris is already facing online attacks in her bid for the vice presidency". Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- Bixby, Scott (August 12, 2020). "Kamala Harris Built a 'Digital Army'—Now She Gets to Use It". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- "Kamala Harris Dropped Out, But The #KHive and Stan Culture Aren't Leaving Politics". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- "#KHive Finds New Inspiration In Kamala Harris' VP Nomination". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- Gontcharova, Natalie. "Inside The World Of The #KHive, Kamala Harris' Biggest Fans". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- "With VP Pick Kamala Harris, Joe Biden Gets a Digital Juggernaut". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- "Douglas Emhoff could become 'America's first second gentleman'". www.wicz.com. Retrieved August 22, 2020.