Editing Slacktivism (section)

===Sympathy===
Sympathy slacktivism can be observed on social media networks such as Facebook, where users can like pages to support a cause or show support to people in need. Also common in this type of slacktivism is for users to change their profile pictures to one that shows the user's peers that they care about the topic.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.livescience.com/52837-french-flags-on-facebook-does-it-matter.html |last=Pappas |first=Stephanie |title=French Flags on Facebook: Does Social Media Support Really Matter? |work=LiveScience |publisher=Purch |date=November 18, 2015 |access-date=January 4, 2017 |archive-date=January 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104234453/http://www.livescience.com/52837-french-flags-on-facebook-does-it-matter.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This can be considered a virtual counterpart of wearing a pin to display one's sympathies; however, acquiring such a pin often requires some monetary donation to the cause while changing profile picture does not.

In sympathy slacktivism, images of young children, animals and people seemingly in need are often used to give a sense of credibility to the viewers, making the campaign resonate longer in their memory. Using children in campaigns is often the most effective way of reaching a larger audience due to the fact that most adults, when exposed to the ad, would not be able to ignore a child in need.

An example of sympathy slacktivism is the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet's campaign "Vi Gillar Olika" (literal translation: "We like different").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/vigillarolika/ |title=Vi gillar olika {{pipe}} Aftonbladet |publisher=Aftonbladet.se |date=January 18, 2014 |access-date=July 24, 2014 |archive-date=September 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930114249/http://www.aftonbladet.se/vigillarolika/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This campaign was launched against xenophobia and racism, something that was a hot topic in Sweden in 2010. The main icon of the campaign was an open hand with the text "Vi Gillar Olika," the icon that was adopted from the French organisation [[SOS Racisme]]'s campaign Touche pas à mon Pote in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rör inte min kompis |url=http://www.rorinteminkompis.se/historia |title=Rör inte min kompis {{!}} Historia {{pipe}} |publisher=rorinteminkompis.se |access-date=November 24, 2015 |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126192910/http://rorinteminkompis.se/historia |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Another example was when Facebook users added a Norwegian flag to their pictures after the [[2011 Norway attacks]] in which 77 people were killed. This campaign received attention from the Swedish Moderate Party, who encouraged their supporters to update their profile pictures.<ref>{{cite web |author=Namn obligatorisk |url=http://moderaterna.net/upplands-bro/2011/07/25/deltagande-med-det-norska-folket/ |title=Deltagande med det norska folket {{pipe}} Moderaterna i Upplands-Bro |publisher=Moderaterna.net |access-date=July 24, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001051/http://moderaterna.net/upplands-bro/2011/07/25/deltagande-med-det-norska-folket/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>