#CaptionTHIS: How to Take Action on 6/6

BY JESSICA THURBER



The big day is here and some of you are unsure of what to do. No worries! I've compiled a quick 'n easy #captionTHIS guide on taking action. There are three things you can do:

1. Contact news organizations/companies via email/contact page

While spreading the word is crucial to the social media movement, the most important thing here is to actually contact the news organizations, either via email or their contact page. On Wednesday, June 6, be sure to take at least 15 minutes out of your day to let various media companies know how you feel about the lack of online accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Click here for some quick background information on the #captionTHIS movement, an email template, and a list of contacts/links.

2. Use the #captionTHIS hashtag on Twitter

If you're on Twitter, great! If not, create an account. On 6/6, start tweeting links of videos (or sites with videos) that aren't captioned with the hashtag #captionTHIS. Be sure to mention (@) the news organizations/companies that have failed to provide equal access to information.

List of a handful of news organizations/companies on Twitter:

• ABC News = @ABC
• Amazon = @amazon
• BBC News = @BBCWorld
• CBS = @CBSTweet
• CNN = @CNN
• ESPN = @espn
• The Food Network = @FoodNetwork
• Fox News = @FoxNews
• HBO = @HBO
• Huffington Post = @HuffPostMedia
• Logo TV = @LogoTV
• MLB = @MLB
• NBC = @NBC
• Netflix = @netflix
• NFL = @nfl
• The New York Times = @nytimes
• NOVA | PBS = @novapbs 
• National Public Radio (NPR) = @nprnews
• PBS = @PBS
• USA TODAY = @USATODAY
• U.S. Department of Education = @usedgov
• The Washington Post = @washingtonpost
• The Weather Channel = @weatherchannel
• Wired = @wired
• Yahoo! = @Yahoo

Example Tweet #1: "Hey @CNN, please #captionTHIS: [VIDEO LINK HERE]. Your videos aren't accessible to the deaf/hard of hearing."

Example Tweet #2: "@Yahoo I'm a teacher & I want to share your videos w/my deaf students but they cannot access the vids bec of no captions. #captionTHIS" 

Important: Include the "@" when contacting the news companies on Twitter. If you do not, they are not going to see your tweets.

Alternatively, you could check out the trending #captionTHIS tweets and re-tweet the ones you like.

Are you in the UK? Use this hashtag as well: #subtitlesnow. Follow @peskypeople for more information on the UK captioning movement!

3. Share this blog post on Facebook

Let your friends and family know by posting the link on Facebook: http://blog.deafpolitics.org/2012/06/captionthis-how-to-take-action-on-66.html. Encourage them to join the #captionTHIS movement and take action on 6/6! For every person that becomes involved, the noise intensifies 10x. 


Special thanks to Adam Jarashow, Megan Malzkuhn, Natalee Franck, Jesse Ragsdale, and Octavian Robinson.