Political Consumerism and Buycott’s War on Koch Industries: Activism or slacktivism?

Abstract

A white fist punches the air, grasping tightly to a fluorescent green dollar bill — the Buycott app’s icon pictorially represents the power of consumer decisions. Buycott was developed by freelance programmer Ivan Pardo and released in May 2013 in order to provide its users with, in the words of its creator, “a platform that empowers [them] to make well-informed purchasing decisions.” The app allows consumers to make politically informed purchases, using their money as their ideological voice. 

Theoretically, the app was created for both conservative and liberal users, plus all those users in between. However, the app boasts overwhelmingly liberal campaigns, perhaps because liberal political participants are generally younger and more likely to utilize such a technology.