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== Social activism ==
In addition to its regular programming, MTV has a long history of promoting social, political, and environmental activism in young people.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Lewis |first1=Michael |title=The Herd of Independent Minds |magazine=New Republic |date=1996 |volume=214 |issue=23 |pages=20–26}}</ref> The channel's vehicles for this activism have been ''Choose or Lose'', encompassing political causes and encouraging viewers to vote in elections; ''Fight For Your Rights'', encompassing anti-violence and anti-discrimination causes; ''think MTV''; and ''MTV Act'' and ''Power of 12'', the newest umbrellas for MTV's social activism.

=== ''Choose or Lose'' ===
[[File:Chooselose.jpg|thumb|MTV ''Choose or Lose'' logo]]
In 1992, MTV started a pro-democracy campaign called ''Choose or Lose'', to encourage over 20 million people to register to vote, and the channel hosted a town hall forum for then-candidate [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Dan |title=Babylon by bus |url=https://www.salon.com/1996/09/23/media960923/ |website=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |access-date=9 July 2024 |date=23 September 1996}}</ref>

In recent years, other politically diverse programs on MTV have included ''[[True Life]]'', which documents people's lives and problems, and [[MTV News]] specials, which center on very current events in both the music industry and the world. One special show covered the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 US presidential election]], airing programs focused on the issues and opinions of young people, including a program where viewers could ask questions of Senator [[John Kerry]].<ref>Sherman, Tom, "[http://underscorebleach.net/jotsheet/2004/11/election-youth-vote The Real Story of the Youth Vote in the 2004 Election.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511152920/http://underscorebleach.net/jotsheet/2004/11/election-youth-vote |date=May 11, 2011 }}" ''Underscorebleach.net'', November 4, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-04-14.</ref> MTV worked with [[Sean Combs|P. Diddy]]'s "[[Citizen Change]]" campaign, designed to encourage young people to vote.<ref>Vargas, Jose Antonio, "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35290-2004Nov8.html Vote or Die? Well, They Did Vote.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205002748/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35290-2004Nov8.html |date=February 5, 2021 }}" ''Washingtonpost.com'', November 9, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-04-14.</ref>

Additionally, MTV aired a documentary covering a trip by the musical group [[Sum 41]] to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], documenting the conflict there. The group ended up being caught in the midst of an attack outside of the hotel and was subsequently flown out of the country.<ref>"[http://www.warchild.ca/rocked.asp Rocked: Sum 41 in Congo]" ''War Child Canada''. 2001–2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107163733/http://www.warchild.ca/rocked.asp |date=January 7, 2007 }}</ref>

The channel also began showing presidential campaign commercials for the first time during the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 US presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Weprin|first=Alex|title=Breaking Tradition, MTV to Accept Political Advertising|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573298.html?rssid=193|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=June 25, 2008|access-date=June 25, 2008}}</ref> This has led to criticism, with [[Jonah Goldberg]] opining that "MTV serves as the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats']] main youth outreach program."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/JonahGoldberg/2008/09/12/very_different_visions|title=Jonah Goldberg – Very Different Visions|first=Jonah|last=Goldberg|date=September 12, 2008 |access-date=December 30, 2016|archive-date=September 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912163008/http://townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/2008/09/12/very_different_visions|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ''Rock the Vote'' ===
MTV is aligned with [[Rock the Vote]], a campaign to motivate young adults to register and vote.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rockthevote.org/about-us/ | title=About us | publisher=Rock the Vote | access-date=May 18, 2019 | archive-date=January 21, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121055253/https://www.rockthevote.org/about-us/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== ''MTV Act'' and ''Power of 12'' ===
In 2012, MTV launched ''MTV Act'' and ''Power of 12'', its current social activism campaigns. ''MTV Act'' focuses on a wide array of social issues,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mtv.com |title=MTV Act |publisher=Act.mtv.com |date=August 10, 2012 |access-date=August 14, 2012 |archive-date=August 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816003900/http://act.mtv.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while ''Power of 12'' was a replacement for MTV's ''Choose or Lose'' and focused on the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 US presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Lauren |last=Grillo |url=http://powerof12.org/ |title=MTV |publisher=Power of 12 |access-date=August 14, 2012 |archive-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104032504/http://powerof12.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== ''Elect This'' ===
In 2016, MTV continued its pro-democracy campaign with ''Elect This'', an issue-oriented look at the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]] targeting Millennials. Original content under the "Elect This" umbrella includes "Infographica," short animations summarizing MTV News polls; "Robo-Roundtable," a digital series hosted by animatronic robots; "The Racket," a multi-weekly digital series; and "The Stakes," a weekly political podcast.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elect What? "Elect This."|url=http://thepub.viacom.com/sites/mtvpress/Pages/elect-this-launch-announcement.aspx|website=MTV Press|publisher=Viacom Media Networks|access-date=August 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921212735/http://thepub.viacom.com/sites/mtvpress/Pages/elect-this-launch-announcement.aspx|archive-date=September 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== ''Vote Early Day'' ===
In 2020, MTV was the principal founder of [[Vote Early Day]]. Initially, the primary target audience was young voters. The MTV campaign launched with partners across media, consumer brands, and advocacy organizations, and its strength being that it isn't 'owned' by any one entity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morin |first=Rebecca |title=Vote Early Day effort launches to get more people, especially young voters, to the polls |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/03/10/vote-early-day-effort-launches-get-more-people-young-voters-polls/5002061002/ |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101183850/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/03/10/vote-early-day-effort-launches-get-more-people-young-voters-polls/5002061002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Voting Early Is Easier Than Ever — So We're Making It A Holiday |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/o4q24a/vote-early-day-what-to-know |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=MTV |language=en |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101183630/https://www.mtv.com/news/o4q24a/vote-early-day-what-to-know |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vote Early Day |url=https://www.hyperakt.com/work/vote-early-day |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=Hyperakt |language=en |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101190346/https://www.hyperakt.com/work/vote-early-day |url-status=live }}</ref>