There are so many layers to the Standing Rock story, but one of the most fascinating and interesting to note is how the influence of mainstream and social media not only shaped how people thought about the event but actually impacted the event. With the rise of social media, political movements and protests are no longer limited to the structure of mainstream media to spread their message. Now people can now easily spread their own message on their own terms, which can then get picked up by mainstream media. In the reporting of these events, news stations would often show tweets, pictures, and video clips from the protesters, sharing their voices rather than just imposing their own on the situation. 

 

Moments and movements like this one at Standing Rock prove how awareness and determination coupled with the media can make an impact. While the pipeline does exist today, the protests did make President Obama call for a halt to the pipeline. After the protests had died down, President Trump signed an executive order to allow the pipeline to be completed. This shows that when people take the movement into their own hands, the media will respond and politicians will follow. This is so important because there are massive humanitarian issues like this one popping up every day. Now the next monster being fought is gun control, led by the victims of the Parkland shooting. If Standing Rock taught us anything, it's that unrelenting media attention can cause politicians to notice and act. So let's not let the gun control protests fall at the first sign of legislation, there has to be maintained interest or everything will be undone after a little while, and everyone will forget to notice.