Here's everything you need to know about Blackout Tuesday and #TheShowMustBePaused initiatives

• Blackout Tuesday is an initiative to go silent on social media, reflect on recent events, and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Although it was originally launched by members of the music industry, it has been adopted by many everyday people, who are flooding Instagram with symbolic black squares.
• One aspect of the initiative is #TheShowMustBePaused, which was coined by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, two black women at Atlantic Records.
• "Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable," reads an open letter on their website.
• Both have received backlash, however, from artists and activists who call the initiatives "counterproductive" and "performative."
• Singer-songwriter Kehlani says the intention of Blackout Tuesday was pure, but the effects are destructive: "something about its execution doesn't seem smart."

Today is Blackout Tuesday, which was intended as a day to go silent on social media, reflect on recent events, and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

But if you've noticed a cascade of black squares on your Instagram feed, it's clear the initiative has extended far beyond its original intention — and may even be having destructive effects.

Here's everything you need to know about how it began, how it's being executed, and where it hopes to go.

Blackout Tuesday was launched by members of the music industry

It's unclear exactly who coined the term Blackout Tuesday, but the initiative began circulating on Friday and Saturday, largely thanks to record labels, music companies, streaming platforms, radio personalities, and artists.

Many members of the music industry posted about the initiative on social media, calling for "a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community" and hailing the effort as "an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change."

It appears that its original intention was to go silent on social media and pause the flood of new content, not to post blacked-out images.

Additionally, labels and label executives were touting the decision not to release music on Blackout Tuesday — although the music industry's widely adopted weekly release day is Friday, not Tuesday.

Among those who pledged support to Blackout Tuesday are Atlantic Records, Sony, Def Jam, Capitol Records, Warner Music, Apple Music's Ebro Darden, Beats 1 host Zane Lowe, former Hot 97 music programming director Karlie Hustle, and more.

Streaming platforms like Spotify have pledged support for the initiative, but will not actually cease functioning for the day. Instead, some playlists and podcasts will symbolically go dark.

Many fan accounts for artists have also pledged support and refused to post updates, as a symbol of solidarity with black communities.

Interscope Records — the label that's home to artists like Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, and DaBaby — took it one step further and decided not to release any new music for the entire week.

"Instead, IGA will contribute to organizations that help to bail out protesters exercising their right to peacefully assemble, aid lawyers working for systematic change, and provide assistance to charities focused on creating economic empowerment in the Black community," reads a statement on the label's website, alongside a list of resources.

The initiative was circulated alongside the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, which was coined by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang

Thomas and Agyemang are both black women in the music industry, who launched the hashtag as "a call to action for those of us who work in music/entertainment/show business."

In an open letter posted on the initiative's website, Thomas and Agyemang said their goal is to "intentionally disrupt the work week."

"We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for Black lives," the letter reads. "Monday suggests a long weekend, and we can't wait until Friday for change. It is a day to take a beat for an honest, reflective and productive conversation about what actions we need to collectively take to support the Black community."

Thomas and Agyemang also noted that music's multi-billion dollar industry "has profited predominantly from Black art."

"Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable."

The letter has been shared alongside a list of anti-racism resources, including links to donate to the families and causes of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

A follow-up post from Thomas and Agyemang clarified that its purpose "was never to mute ourselves."

"The purpose is to disrupt," the post reads. "The purpose is a pause from business as usual."

Despite the widespread use of both hashtags, the initiatives have inspired confusion and backlash

Many people, even within the music industry, seem confused about the purpose of Blackout Tuesday and what exactly the initiative encourages.

Rapper and singer Yung Baby Tate said the point wasn't actually to "stop posting everything," because people need to stay informed.

"I don't think the purpose of the blackout is to stop posting everything, it's to stop posting your own personal content for at least one day," she wrote on Twitter. "But we don't want to see your new single artwork or hair review or flash sale or selfies today."

But that interpretation is just one of many. Although Blackout Tuesday was originally coined and circulated within the music industry, the concept has been widely adopted and reshaped.

On Tuesday, social media — and Instagram in particular — was flooded with symbolic black squares, often accompanied by the hashtags #BlackoutTuesday and #BlackLivesMatter.

However, this has caused mass frustration within the Black Lives Matter movement. As Insider's Rachel Greenspan previously reported, these plain black squares are flooding hashtag pages, obscuring helpful resources and hindering the efforts of protesters.

Singer-songwriter Kehlani, who originally called the Blackout Tuesday initiative "bulls---," has voiced skepticism about its execution and unclear messaging.

"While I really do f--- wit the intention behind the 'black out' something about its execution doesn't seem smart," she wrote on Instagram. "we keep eachother informed on here, we are eachother news channels because we cannot trust the news. we cannot disappear for a day."

"now when you check the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, it's no longer videos, helpful information, resources, documentation of the injustice, it's rows of black screens."

Kehlani noted that she does appreciate the "solidarity," "strength in numbers," and lack of unrelated content that the initiative encourages, but ultimately feels that it's "counterproductive at this point."

Lil Nas X agreed that "ppl need to see what's going on."

"i know y'all mean well but... bro saying stop posting for a day is the worst idea ever," he wrote on Twitter. "the movement needs to be pushed forward! not silenced for a day."

Other activists have voiced similar concerns, criticizing the "space" these posts occupy while offering little in return.

Model and activist Emily Ratajkowski retweeted some of Kehlani's thoughts, and described the blackout as "the worst kind of virtual signaling" and "straight up dangerous."

Instagram user @ninacorn slammed the initiative as "performative, pseudo activism," while Reductress editor Taylor Garron echoed that sentiment on Twitter: "if black people are telling you the blackout squares aren't helpful, and you're still posting them, ask yourself who you're posting them for."

• Read more:
• Ariana Grande, Halsey, and more celebrities are marching in the Black Lives Matter protests
• 'Glee' actor Samantha Marie Ware called out her costar Lea Michele for hypocrisy after she tweeted in support of Black Lives Matter
• Cole Sprouse says he was arrested while protesting at a Black Lives Matter demonstration
• People are urging influencers and celebrities to support Black Lives Matter online or stop posting entirely