Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the future Democratic congressional representative from New York’s 14th district, is geeking out during her freshman orientation on the Hill. And she’s making sure that all of her constituents know about it.
Ocasio-Cortez has been posting fun, inspiring Instagram stories all week: photos of her in front of a portrait of Shirley Chisolm, the first Black woman to be elected to Congress; a video of her protesting outside Nancy Pelosi’s office; and video of Ocasio-Cortez unpacking her new member tote bag.
But the most interesting part of her social media strategy so far is her commitment to making it accessible to all of her followers and constituents.
On Friday, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Advocates for the deaf community hit me up to connect me with tools (i.e. Clipomatic) to better serve all of us. Thanks to them, I now caption all my IG stories so our deaf brothers and sisters can follow along too.”
Advocates for the deaf community hit me up to connect me with tools (i.e. Clipomatic) to better serve all of us.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 16, 2018
Thanks to them, I now caption all my IG stories so our deaf brothers and sisters can follow along too. https://t.co/WhwNNgSeHy
Ocasio-Cortez is already opening up the inner workings of Congress to her social media followers and constituents in an unprecedented fashion. But sure her social media presence is accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing constituents is earning her big plaudits online.
https://twitter.com/thesillysully/status/1063478898095083520
Wow. Yes. Thanks so much for this tweet! INCLUSION!
— WeAreNotALoan (@NotALoan2) November 16, 2018
As some users point out, the captions aren’t just helpful for the Deaf and hard of hearing; they’re great for those who don’t speak English fluently or new parents who want to keep up with the news but don’t want to wake up their kids.
FINALLY. This doesn't help just the deaf tho. It helps anyone with a want or need to read along.
— 𝗝𝗗 (@TaterSaladJD) November 16, 2018
I once dated an MD in her residency. She was originally from China. She was certainly fluent in English. But she insisted on having subtitles on any movies we watched.
She said it made it much easier for her to understand. That gave me a new appreciation for what it's like to be in a country that doesn't speak your native language.
— 𝗝𝗗 (@TaterSaladJD) November 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/Peaceweet/status/1063485673758490625
https://twitter.com/UndertoeDance/status/1063485321877299200
Others had helpful suggestions for better accessibility.
It may also be a good idea to be as descriptive as possible in regards to what you’re doing during your Instagram stories so that people who are blind and have low vision are included as well.
— Elyse Wanshel (@elysewanshel) November 16, 2018
Just make sure you capitalize Deaf from now on and you’re good🙂🙂🙂
— wonderingwhy… (@wonderingwhysom) November 16, 2018
Ocasio-Cortez, along with Abby Finkenauer of Iowa, is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She is also one of over 100 women elected to national office during the midterms, and part of the most diverse freshman class of Congressional representatives ever elected.
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