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Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements
Abstract
The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere have been credited in part to the creative use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Yet the information policies of the firms behind social media can inhibit activists and empower authoritarian regimes. Analysis of Facebook's response to Egypt's We Are All Khaled Said group, YouTube's policy exemption for videos coming from Syria, Moroccan loyalist response to the online presence of atheists, and the activities of the Syrian Electronic Army illustrate how prohibitions on anonymity, community policing practices, campaigns from regime loyalists, and counterinsurgency tactics work against democracy advocates. These problems arise from the design and governance challenges facing large-scale, revenue-seeking social media enterprises.
... Despite this, research indicates that social media has been used less for mobilisation and more for raising awareness, in which information sharing prevails over engagement (Gordon & Trammel, 2016;Guo & Saxton, 2014). Research also found that authoritarian regimes in the Arab world limit the freedom of advocates on social media through censorship and prohibiting certain content (Salem, 2017;Youmans & York, 2012). In addition, sociocultural and contextual factors such as societal stereotypes, government censorship or inadequate network coverage deter women from taking full advantage of social media for empowerment (Abubakar et al., 2017;Dixit, 2021). ...
... Recently, a shift has emerged from interactive dialogue to a more action-oriented approach, such as the use of social media, concerning the case of the drowned Syrian toddler, Aylan Kurdi, which reinforced pro-refugee solidarity (Thomas et al., 2018). Online momentum can also be reflected offline, like the 2011 Egyptian Facebook-initiated revolution that began online and incited offline participation (Youmans & York, 2012). In addition, people used Facebook 'calling for justice of Rosenberg', which led to an online movement and organised people to take part in person (Harlow, 2012). ...
... The campaign also responds to past research that asserted that further study is necessary to understand the role of social media advocacy in Egypt (Eltantawy & Wiest, 2011;Shata & Amin, 2020). Given that Facebook remains the most common social media platform used in Egypt since the Arab Spring (Global Stats, 2020;Youmans & York, 2012), the 'Taa Marbuta' relied heavily on Facebook. Thus, our analysis focused on their use of Facebook and followed past media studies that concentrated on one social media platform for analysis (Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012;Waters & Lo, 2012). ...
The last few years have seen many movements aimed at empowering women worldwide. The question of what it means to be empowered and how to empower others needs to be studied further. Using ‘Taa Marbuta,’ a women’s empowerment campaign in Egypt, this paper attempts to understand the process of empowerment from the campaign/content creators’ perspective, including levels of empowerment and forms of power, and factors that influence a campaign success or failure. In-depth interviews with the campaign makers were conducted, as well as a textual analysis of the campaign messages. The analysis shows that the campaign exhibited three forms of power: power from, power to, and power over, and created a sense of belonging among advocates. Organizational empowerment was strongly apparent, followed by individual empowerment, but with minimal community empowerment. The context, leadership, political will, variety of communication channels, and collaborations among community organizers were success factors, while stereotypes and focus on awareness-raising instead of actions acted as barriers.
... To this end, they resort to strategies aimed at the media to achieve media presence. They also resort to campaigns to mobilize their supporters on social networks, as a communication strategy that allows the involvement of members who become prescribers and who play an essential role in social networks [33]. ...
... One of the objectives of this research was to find out what purpose digital communication serves for organizations. It was found that these communication actions have a mainly mobilizing function [33]. In this sense, grassroots campaigns serve to mobilize and educate, social networks to raise awareness, and the media to raise awareness and educate. ...
This article analyzes how European social organizations currently use digital tools and what they contribute to their corporate strategies. The analysis is based on the EU Transparency Register, in which 3,360 NGOs are registered, of which 994 are represented in Brussels. A content analysis of the Web sites of a sample of 280 organizations out of a universe of 994 (n = 994) and semi-structured interviews with 4 social organizations were carried out. The results show an intense use of digital communication, although traditional media are not abandoned. Practically, all the organizations are present on several social networks, which serve the organizations to develop grassroots campaigns and raise public awareness. However, in their lobbying actions, social organizations will continue to use traditional and face-to-face strategies.KeywordsCitizenshipEuropean UnionGrassrootsLobbyNGOsSocial media
... Treré (2016) argues that the government's "dataveillance" (133) and "digital trap" (134) undermined the Yo Soy movement and prevented it from becoming a "Mexican spring" (133). In contrast to the aforementioned works that emphasize government repression, Youmans and York's (2012) case study of Egyptian and Syrian activists foregrounds the role of platforms themselves in subverting movements. Their study highlights how a platform's commercial imperative may align with a governmental agenda to police and surveil protesters and dissidents. ...
... Therefore, while BLM has frequently been "cited as an exemplar of social media's empowering, democratic potential" (Walsh and O'Connor 2019: 8), it also reflects the precarious fate of digital activists who use social media to protest repression but then experience repression through networked surveillance online. BLM is similar to other movements globally as scholars have demonstrated that activists in Germany, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Spain have been both empowered and disenfranchised by digital protest on platforms (Leistert 2012;Youmans and York 2012;Demirhan 2014;De Souza 2014;Treré 2016;Anderson 2019). Thus, far from being open, liberatory, egalitarian spaces, social media serve as the "Janus head of visibility" (Uldam 2018: 43) for activists, amplifying their causes while simultaneously exposing them to surveillance, criminalization, and prosecution. ...
This article outlines the “social media surveillance assemblage” (Trottier 2011: 63) on Facebook, including its deployment against social activists. In particular, it traces intersecting, dynamic, and opaque data flows among Facebook, third parties, and law enforcement that undermine Black Lives Matter activists and suppress social dissent in the United States. Sources of data include interviews with academics, lawyers, and researchers as well as an in-depth examination of platform policies, Freedom of Information Act requests/lawsuits, and news articles. Theories of the surveillance assemblage (Trottier 2011), the surveillance-industrial complex (Hayes 2012), and surveillance capitalism (Zuboff 2015, 2019) frame the interviews and documents, demonstrating the multi-faceted nature of social media surveillance. Providing an interdisciplinary focus, this article engages with the fields of private policing, surveillance studies, and social movements literature. The article’s empirical data contribute to the existing literature by stressing the role of third parties and providing insights into the nontransparent system of surveillance on social media.
... Moreover, messaging platforms have played a significant role in social and political movements (Youmans & York, 2012). They have been used to organize protests, disseminate information, and connect like-minded individuals who share common interests or goals. ...
This research delves into the dynamic world of informal language usage among students on the popular messaging platform, WhatsApp. As digital communication becomes an integral part of daily life, the study examines the frequency, variability, motivations, and social dynamics of slang usage among students. Through surveys, interviews, and, where possible, data analysis of WhatsApp conversations, the research uncovers the complex interplay between language, technology, and human connection in the digital realm. The findings reveal that slang is not merely a linguistic phenomenon but a reflection of the adaptability of language in the digital age. It serves as a linguistic bridge that enables informal communication in digital interactions. The lexicon of slang is diverse and ever-evolving, reflecting the cultural and social context in which it thrives. Motivations for slang usage go beyond humor and informality, extending to self-expression, emotional connection, and the formation of digital identities. Slang enhances social bonds and fosters a sense of belonging among peers, shaping the quality of digital interactions. Demographic variations in slang usage demonstrate its context-dependent nature, influenced by factors such as age, gender, and geographical location. Slang's impact on digital communication is significant, enhancing informal exchanges while presenting challenges, particularly in cross-cultural interactions. This research underscores the importance of digital literacy and cross-cultural understanding in online interactions and has implications for education, linguistic research, and cross-cultural communication. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, this research offers a deeper understanding of the role of language in shaping human connections in the digital age. It calls for ongoing exploration into the ever-changing linguistic dynamics of digital communication and its profound impact on contemporary society.
... Цифрову трансформацію відрізняють від ІТстратегічної ініціативи, оскільки в цифрових трансформаціях цифрові технології відіграють центральну роль у переосмисленні ціннісних пропозицій, що викликає появу нової організаційної ідентичності (Wessel et al, 2020). Трансформована ідентичність організації забезпечує позитивні зміни, включаючи розширені можливості прийняття рішень (Brynjolfsson 2011), переосмислення ціннісних пропозицій (Wessel et al, 2020), посилення зв'язку з клієнтами (Bharadwaj et al, 2013;Kumar et al, 2010), розширені канали зв'язку з клієнтами/ постачальниками (Bharadwaj, 2000;Kleis et al. 2012) і покращені комунікаційні засоби (Olesen, & Myers, 1999;Youmans, & York, 2012). ...
Метою дослідження є визначення особливостей публічного управління у сфері екологічної політики держави на основі використання механізмів мережевого управління з урахуванням культурної спадщини та якості життя населення. Поява цифрових технологій, таких як соціальні медіа, мобільні пристрої, аналітика, хмарні обчислення та Інтернет речей тощо, надала унікальні можливості для залучення інновацій, які є доступними, простими у використанні, легкими в освоєнні та впровадженні. Перетворення за допомогою таких технологій позитивно впливають на всю систему управління суспільством. Органам управління вдається підвищити продуктивність і ефективність, скоротити час циклу та досягти значних успіхів завдяки цифровій трансформації. Робиться висновок про необхідність виваженої державної екологічної політики з використанням механізмів мережевого управління в умовах цифрової трансформації. Більше того, екологічна сталість/стійкість вимагає глобальної координації, яка узгоджується з національними, регіональними, місцевим, та індивідуальним рівнями. Обізнаність означає знання про вплив цифрових технологій та ініціатив на навколишнє середовище. Цифрова трансформація може негативно впливати на навколишнє середовище. Зростаючий слід Інтернету, інтенсивне використання цифрової інфраструктури та зростання цифрового сміття потенційно можуть забруднювати землю, повітря та воду. Проте цифрова трансформація є важливою складовою діяльності держав, бізнесів, інституцій громадянського суспільства і окремих людей.
... The Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, which is referred to as "Facebook revolutions," is an example of demonstrations inspired by social media (Tufekci & Wilson, 2012). During these protests, Twitter was indispensable for local citizens, who used the platform to organize and share updates on what was happening (Youmans & York, 2012). ...
Our study examines the visual rhetoric and activism themes on #MahsaAmini. We engaged in a quantitative content analysis of 520 visual tweets. Our findings show massive support for the movement through a predominantly visual pro-movement slant and highlight the role of emotional visual tweets in mobilization. The study contributes to the literature on Twitter as a space for digital feminism. It provides valuable insights into how the persuasion strategies shape feminist movements and encourage retweeting.
... Activists may aim to remain anonymous on social media websites, as was the case during the Egyptian uprising of 2011, but Facebook removed such accounts citing violation of their privacy regulations. However, an Egyptian activist recommends that Facebook should allow for anonymous accounts, even if they want to display this information on the account (Youmans & York, 2012). It is increasingly difficult to create an account on Facebook which can remain anonymous; providing an individual's email address and phone number to create the account is incentivized by design. ...
... Lynch et al. (2014) also believed that the "Syrian revolution is the most documented revolution in history", in which multiple social media platforms were employed by conflict parties to mobilize its supporters, organize protest movements, counter regime's propaganda, and gain the sympathy of the international audience (Baiazy, 2012). The Syrian regime also used extensive use of online media to launch a counteroffensive by deploying a digital army, named as 'Syrian Electronic Army', to operate online spamming campaigns, hacking popular opposition websites, and uploading pro-regime videos Youmans & York, 2012). The 2 million YouTube videos uploaded in the first two years of Syrian revolt have made some scholars refer to it as the 'YouTube revolution', as contrary to the Egyptian' Facebook revolution' or the Iranian ' Twitter's revolution' (Khatib, 2015). ...
The growing use of social media in contemporaneous conflicts and its penetration into modern warfare is a thing to be pondered. Social media has redefined social movements, collective actions, and empowered marginalized groups to have a say in international affairs. While there has been a large body of literature examining how the traditional media depicts conflicts and violent events, the role of social media in shaping conflicts has been overlooked. Consulting an extensive literature related to social media and contemporary conflicts, this study explored the pivotal role of social media in the escalation of recent civil uprisings and the consequences of digital activism on changing conflict dynamics. This study also analyzed the usage of social media by militant organizations and insurgent groups for their vested interests and validated the insurgent public sphere role of social media in shaping conflicts.
... But just as this is an example of success, it is also an example of the embedded problems associated with safeguarding digital rights. The notification to accept cookies, instead of being a protective measure, is instead a further mechanism normalizing the collection of data through "user consent" [86,87]. Just as most users fail to read the terms and conditions for most products and services due to their length and linguistically obtuse language, so too do users accept tracking cookies on web platforms. ...
The long progress towards universal human rights is regressing. This regression is pronounced within digital spaces once thought to be potential bulwarks of a new era in human rights. But on the contrary, new technologies have given rise to threats that undermine the autonomy, empathy, and dignity of human beings. Early visions of human rights being strengthened by networked technologies have instead crashed into technological realities which not only fail to advance human rights discourses, but rather serve to actively undermine fundamental human rights in countries around the world. The future of human rights is increasingly threatened by advances that would make George Orwell blush. Omnipresent data collection and algorithmic advances once promising a utopian world of efficiency and connection are deeply interwoven with challenges to anonymity, privacy, and security. This paper examines the impact of technological advances on the regression of human rights in digital spaces. The paper examines the development of human rights through changes in concepts of autonomy, empathy, and dignity, it charts their regression as technologies are used to increasingly prey on these very same characteristics that un-dergird human rights discourses.
... Local politicians' expertise with social media might provide a distinct model and approach based on local wisdom. Social media is used to create a self-image by political actors (Abdillah & Zulhazmi, 2021), branding (Anshari & Prastya, 2014), advocacy organizations (Hestres, 2015), political engagement (Olofinlua, 2020), imagined audience (Marwick & Boyd, 2011), protest actions (Theocharis et al., 2015), negotiations (Dumitrica & Felt, 2020), activist toolkits (Youmans & York, 2012), and communications to supporters and donations (Ardha, 2014). Social media Platforms can be popularly used by political actors: Twitter (Fatanti, 2014;Rindu et al., 2020), Instagram (Dhara et al., 2020;Lestari et al., 2018), Facebook (Harisah, 2019;Suratno et al., 2020), dan Youtube (Arofah, 2015;Wirga, 2016). ...
The modern rise of social media has altered the strategies used in political campaigns. Compared to traditional advertising, social media may lower the cost of a campaign. The Zukri-Nasar team effectively used social media for political campaigns for the 2020 local elections in Pelalawan Regency, Riau. Social media generated 30% of the vote because it can spread messages rapidly, widely, and interactively. Political actors utilize social media to develop their self-image. This study is descriptive-qualitative, and the sampling method used was purposive sampling. The informants comprised seven important informants who were part of the winning side in the municipal election in Pelalawan. An informant is someone with reliable knowledge regarding a political campaign. According to the study, Facebook is the most widely used platform for political campaigns because it is the most popular social networking platform in Pelalawan Regency, Riau. Political advertisements featuring 3D caricatures and political orientation are used as social media political campaign techniques. This tactic is a component of a unique, awareness-raising, and personal branding campaign. The candidate’s personal character is presented as accurately as possible on their social media campaign. Furthermore, the political campaign model found in the research was called The Integrative and Collaborative Model of the political campaign.
... Furthermore, these platforms have been accused of undermining protest movements. According to Youmans and York [74], the policies adopted by social media companies PACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 6, No. CSCW2, Article 406, Publication date: November 2022. often complicate collective action and may possibly be complicit with governments that are trying to suppress social movements through data privacy breaches. ...
Nowadays social movements are driven by networks of people who resort to social media platforms to rally, self-organise and coordinate action around a shared cause, which can be referred to as the formation of publics. Due to years of political instability, conflicts, corruption, sectarianism, economic collapse and declining living conditions, in October 2019 Lebanon witnessed uprisings which transcended into a wider social movement. As the movement unfolded, Lebanese diaspora members living across the world formed their own publics in support of the Lebanese revolution that interfaced with the local Lebanon-based publics. As such, a broader transnational public emerged as a result of the coordinated online and offline efforts between diaspora actors and local actors, which had a crucial role in mitigating the aftermath of the compounded crises that hit Lebanon. In this paper, through observation and interviews with Lebanese diaspora members, we contribute a socio-technical understanding of the formation of a transnational public, with a particular focus on the underlying infrastructures that enabled its creation. Furthermore, we surface the challenges in relation to sustaining such a diaspora public and its interfacing with local publics in Lebanon. We contribute empirical insights that highlight how different technological tools and platforms, coupled with social processes built within diaspora groups and with local actors, led to the formation of such a multilayered transnational public.
... Others, even when they select in which network they carried out their investigations-commonly Facebook, Twitter and YouTube-conclude without distinguishing between the different networks, with general comments that cover them all, referring to the networks indistinctly or alluding to the convening capacity of networks without specifications. (Barisione et al. 2017;Brown et al. 2017;Effing et al. 2013;Youmans, York 2012). Authors analyze the effects of exposure to political news with discussions more or less favorable to political participation in networks without distinctions between platforms; others observe differences between the recruitment or the call for mobilization through traditional channels versus what is done on the social networks without telling us differences between those networks (Kümpel 2020;Lee et al. 2022;Serrano-Puche et al. 2018;Van Stekelengurg, Klandermans 2017). ...
Through a review of the literature, the present article outlines the interaction forms that happen on Twitter when the participation is political, intending to show that the conversations made by the most significant collective on Twitter which is formed by ordinary users that post tweets 24/7 any given day with the sole intention to make public its political views, are invisible for the social studies. The actual political conversations attended by the social studies are related to parties, civic organizations, street manifestation, social activism, or some political manifestation that requires organization. The subject is important because these ordinary users with no agendas related to the formal or informal forms of political conversations known by the social studies form the biggest sector in the political social network par excellence, and no one is studying them. We propose the adjective ‘detached’ users to refer to these Twitter users.
... Our study also reveals that social movements can leverage opportunity structures within industry ecologies. While research has addressed the role of opportunity structures in the success of social movements (Dubuisson-Quellier, 2013;Khoury et al., 2021;Youmans & York, 2012), most studies have focused on social or institutional-level dimensions, such as changes in policies or social attitudes (Briscoe & Gupta, 2016;Schneiberg & Lounsbury, 2017;Soule & Olzak, 2004). Beyond these conditions (i.e., which we control for), density-based and resourcepartitioning conditions are meaningful for the success of social movements. ...
We explore how the size of social movements and the ecology of their target industries influence entrepreneurial entry. By leveraging a 14-year panel in the solar energy industry, we demonstrate how a larger social movement stimulates entry. We reveal how this relationship is contingent upon the density of both the focal industry and the industries that are mutually connected to the cause of the movement, as well as the concentration of generalist firms. We demonstrate how larger social movements act in a compensatory role to elicit entry when ecological conditions are least favorable to entry. By uncovering the conditional influence of movements, we contribute to theory at the intersection of social movements and entrepreneurship.
... Modern technology and in particular social media has also made it easier than ever for governments and corporations to track and censor activists [14,16,10,8,9]. While there has been a significant amount of study on how activists use technology and combat surveillance [15,6], most work relies on digital evidence rather than in-person interviews or direct involvement. In addition, there has not yet been a push by computer scientists to study protest technology for the purpose of building better more suitable technology for activists. ...
This work surveys 50 Black Lives Matter activists in the United States about the role of technology in organizing protests and other actions. Broad questions about the overall ease and safety of existing technology allowed them to spontaneously offer features and concerns that were most important to them. While the overwhelming majority (84%) of activists reported using social media to find information, 64% had concerns about data privacy or surveillance on social media, and 40% had concerns about the credibility or reliability of information online. Community played a big role in activists' interactions with technology, with 72% reporting that personal networks helped them find information or feel safe attending protests in general. We hope this study will provide a framework for deeper analysis in areas that are important to activists, so technologists can focus on building solutions that fully serve activists' needs and interests.
... As a result, collective coping and advocative behaviors such as social media activism become indispensable in combating racial discrimination. In addition, the anonymity and protection of privacy afforded by many social media platforms may be of great importance for dissident Asian Americans to engage in collective coping and advocacy (Youmans and York, 2012). Asian Americans, being culturally inclined to save face and avoid direct confrontations (e.g. ...
What drives racial minorities to partake in social media activism for racial justice? Answers to this question are vital and urgent, particularly in view of growing anti-Asian hate crimes amid the current pandemic. Motivated to address this question, we draw insights from the transactional model of stress and coping, the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS), and social media activism literature. We propose an integrative model that delineates the psychological antecedents and processes leading Asian Americans to cope with racial discrimination and engage in social media activism. Results of an online survey among 400 Asian Americans supported the proposed model, highlighting a perception-motivation-coping-activism effect chain. Our study advances the three bodies of literature—coping, STOPS, and social media activism—in the context of racial discrimination concerning an understudied minority group: Asian Americans. It also renders meaningful insights to organizations, groups, and governments that seek to support this community.
... Most prominently, this includes examining the roles played by non-humans in the form of algorithms (Milan,2 In the sense of Latour (2005). 2015); but also the rationales of digital platforms turned multi-billion dollar corporations for deploying them (Hintz, 2016;Youmans & York, 2012) -as aptly captured in Zuboff's (2015) notion of 'surveillance capitalism'. Thus, platforms clearly have their politics (Gillespie, 2010), and there is an evident asymmetry between the users and owners of social media (Milan, 2015;Thatcher, O'Sullivan, & Mahmoudi, 2016). ...
In February 2021, a coup by the Myanmar military ended a ten-year democratisation process. After a rapid digitalisation of Myanmar's political struggles, the military blacked out the country's internet access. Drawing on the sensitivities of science and technology studies for the intersection of digital technology with societal power structures, this paper examines digital policies and practices of the protest movement, the Myanmar military and Facebook. This analysis reveals uncanny similarities: through their opaqueness, the latter actors' policies create uncertainty on what is allowed and what is not, limit means of recourse, and perform authority over the population by directly reaching into people's everyday lives. This article thus de-centres established narratives on Myanmar's political environment in the aftermath of the coup, but also points out the highly ambiguous agency that digital technologies develop in assemblages of political conflict, the (global) discourse on terrorism and government.
... For instance, fans may direct cyberbullying or cyber harassment ("trolling") toward players on social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. This cyberbullying could include posting negative comments using expletives and other disparaging, belittling, and/or discriminatory language or images (e.g., death threats, racial slurs, homophobic and misogynistic comments, sexually harassing language) on player pages and associated accounts (MacPherson & Kerr, 2021;Meggs & Ahmed, 2021;Ruser & Steinfeldt, 2021;Youmans & York, 2012). Extant research in social psychology has attempted to describe the methods by which group members support or derogate other ingroup members. ...
Extant research has characterised various group behaviours through the lens of the theory of subjective group dynamics, which describes how ingroup members’ deviation from the group’s prescriptive norms can impact other members’ perceptions of the group and its members. Deviations from ingroup norms may result in the black sheep effect, which refers to the tendency for individuals to actively judge deviant ingroup members more harshly than similar behaving outgroup members. In this study, we examined the black sheep effect in the context of sports fans’ judgments about athletic performance. When athletes violate sports fans’ prescriptive team norms by performing poorly, these fans may derogate such athletes. Subjective group dynamics in sports contexts has been understudied, and findings for the black sheep effect have been mixed. Thus, we empirically tested for these phenomena in two experiments using fictitious cases of ingroup and outgroup athlete performances. In line with predictions from subjective group dynamics, we found a lack of ingroup bias on perceived competence and increased identity threat following poor performance, with team identification moderating such outcomes in Study 1. Although the presence of the black sheep effect was not confirmed in Study 2, our second experiment offers evidence to suggest that fans may equate poor-performing, ingroup athletes with similar outgroup players. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed.
... Social media is a widely useful mobilisation tool because it allows for the organisation of political activities of different target groups without significant financial investments (Youmans & York, 2012). The lack of restrictions on social media also means that content is rarely modified by social media providers, allowing for a relatively free dissemination of radical ideas and providing easy access to extremist views (Van Dijk & Hacker, 2018). ...
In this article, we examine how political trust is associated with participation in political discussions on social media and voting activity. We explore whether social media can provide platforms for those who are passive in terms of formal political participation. Our data were derived from a representative survey based on a sample collected in 2017 from the Finnish population register (N = 2470). Our key findings were that online and offline participation were highly linked to each other. Those citizens who participated formally by voting were also more likely to participate online. Moreover, we found a moderating effect of political trust on the relationship between online and offline participation. Therefore, we concluded that social media platforms also provide channels for political participation for individuals with low political trust who do not participate formally by voting.
... Scholars have long focused on the centrality of social network ties to the mobilization process (Snow, Zurcher, and Sheldon 1980;Gould 1991;Diani and McAdam 2003). Many studies assert that during moments of protest, participants are mobilized by their social network ties (McAdam 1986;Tufekci and Wilson 2012;Youmans and York 2012;Onuch 2015;Tucker et al. 2018). However, social networks are important not only in the moment of mass mobilization, but also form a crucial foundation in advance of mobilization, helping to explain why some localities may rise first in protest. ...
During moments of nationwide mass mobilization, what distinguishes the towns and cities that rise in the first week from those that do not see protest? Taking the case of nationwide protests in Belarus in August 2020, this study employs an original protest event catalogue to investigate what drives mobilization in early-rising localities. I test hypotheses in the protest literature relating to whether pre-existing social networks, or pre-election campaign rallies, influence subsequent protest mobilization. The innovative use of Telegram data demonstrates the platform’s value for social scientists studying protest. My results suggest that pre-existing social networks help drive mobilization in localities by facilitating communication, coordination, and engagement prior to protest onset, priming people to be ready when the moment of protest arrives. This article also highlights the impressive scale of nationwide mobilization in Belarus in 2020, and demonstrates that local networks were engaging in widespread opposition activity even before mass mobilization.
... Data at the intersection of mobile, platform, and audiovisual provides particularly plentiful opportunities for legal and extrajudicial surveillance and identification. Vulnerable witnesses already operate in the context that extensive platform accountability scholarship has highlighted (Gillespie, 2018;Jaloud et al., 2019;Kayyali et al., 2020;Noble, 2018;Padania et al., 2011;Roberts, 2019;Youmans and York, 2012). Dissident voices and human rights material as well as non-majoritarian perspectives, content, and accounts are highly unstable on platforms, particularly when they originate further from the centers of power and gravity of the companies. ...
Frontline witnessing and civic journalism are impacted by the rhetoric and the reality of misinformation and disinformation. This essay highlights key insights from activities of the human rights and civic journalism network WITNESS, as they seek to prepare for new forms of media manipulation, such as deepfakes, and to ensure that an emergent “authenticity infrastructure” is in place to respond to global needs for reliable information without creating additional harms. Based on global consultations on perceived threats and prioritized solutions, their efforts are primarily targeted towards synthetic media and deepfakes, which not only facilitate audiovisual falsification (including non-consensual sexual images) but also, by being embedded in societal dynamics of surveillance and civil society suppression, they challenge real footage and so undermine the credibility of civic media and frontline witnessing (also known as “liar’s dividend”). They do this within a global context where journalists and some distant witness investigators self-identify as lacking relevant skills and capacity, and face inequity in access to detection technologies. Within this context, “authenticity infrastructure” tracks media provenance, integrity, and manipulation from camera to edit to distribution, and so comes to provide “verification subsidies” that enable distant witnesses to properly interpret eye-witness footage. This “authenticity infrastructure” and related tools are rapidly moving from niche to mainstream in the form of initiatives the Content Authenticity Initiative and Coalition for Content Authenticity and Provenance, raising key questions about who participates in the production and dissemination of audiovisual information, under what circumstances and to which effect for whom. Provenance risks being weaponized unless key concerns are integrated into infrastructure proposals and implementation. Data may be used against vulnerable witnesses, or the absence of a trail, for legitimate privacy and technological access reasons, used to undermine credibility. Regulatory and extra-legal co-option are also a fear as securitized “fake news” laws proliferate. The investigation of both phenomena, deepfakes and emergent authenticity infrastructure(s), this paper argues, is important as it highlights the risks related both to the “information disorder” of deepfakes as they challenge the credibility and safety of frontline witnesses and to responses to such “disorder,” as they risk worsening inequities in access to tools for mitigation or increasing exposure to harms from technology infrastructure.
... Gandhi posted about the incident on Twitter as well (see Figure 2), warning that those who deny the existence of love jihad (i.e., Hindus) may face a similar fate. Meanwhile, other female Hindu nationalist influencers participated in social media campaigns in order to spread awareness about Tomar's death, using activist toolkits, such as hashtags, which is a common tactic that is used by social movements (see Youmans and York 2012). The image on the right in Figure 1 role). ...
This article traces the transnational flows of constructions of the hypersexualized Muslim male through a comparative analysis of love jihad in India and the specter of grooming gangs in the UK. While the former is conceived as an act of seduction and conversion, and the latter through violent rape imaginaries, foregrounding both of these narratives are sexual, gender, and family dynamics that are integral to the fear of demographic change. Building upon these narratives, this study analyzes how influential women in Hindu nationalist and European/North American far-right milieus circulate images, videos, and discourses on social media that depict Muslim men as predatory and violent, targeting Hindu and white girls, respectively. By positioning themselves as the daughters, wives, and mothers of the nation, these far-right female influencers invoke a sense of reproductive urgency, as well as advance claims of the perceived threat of, and safety from, hypersexualized Muslim men. This article illustrates how local ideological narratives of Muslim sexuality are embedded into global Islamophobic tropes of gendered nationalist imaginaries.
There is a growing body of research in the democratization of science, participatory governance, and citizen science within the extant Science and Technology Studies (STS) literature. The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge not only in the medical sense but also for public policy due to limited data availability and deliberation process in policy making. This study focuses on the role of data activists in citizen-centered public policy making during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. We examine two cases to argue that there was a data vacuum and data activists got extremely creative with the available data to satisfy the public’s hunger for information and to facilitate the deliberation process through Twitter. In each case, data activists challenged the official discourse and provided their data analysis in a clear and concise manner that could be understood by the public easily. Twitter’s growing importance in the democratization of science became obvious, as it was the medium where most interaction happened.
Pepper farmer faces the challenges and obstacles in today’s economic recession.
Government has offered large amount of programs to solve the issue such as providing free seeds, offering storage receipt payment system, and controlling the pest and diseases. However, those have not yet provided the right solution to tackle the root of the problem. The community service aims to offer the alternative solution to solve the main problem in the downstream. The issue is lack of understanding on the good agricultural practices among the pepper farmers. Thus, the program offers the solution.
to build the capacity on good agricultural practices through community service.
Socialization, training, and extension were the method of the community service. The
program was expected to contribute in minimizing the issue faced by pepper farmers.
The program found that farmers’ knowledge on good agricultural practices was
improved and they tent to apply the new knowledge in near future. The farmers’
practices were still in the conventional way which was far from the ideal. The
government should more active in ensuring the government program to improve the
capacity and the welfare of the farmer in sustainable and manageable way. Otherwise,
the farmers were still left behind and the agriculture sector would not contribute to the
economy of the country significantly.
This article presents an exploratory qualitative study that investigated a group of Chinese school teachers' imaginaries of intellectuals and self-perceived experiences of being an intellectual. The study was informed by the perspectives of critical pedagogy, that is, to transform technician-like teachers to organic, transformative, or society-involved intellectuals with an activist vision and emancipatory commitment. The findings were generated from textual analysis of in-depth interviews. Chinese teachers tended to distance teaching from their imagined intellectual work, which was deemed value-free and prestigious. Additionally, they rarely regarded themselves as critically engaged agents committed to challenging the oppressive structure in education. Their unreflexive acceptance of the intellectual-teacher divide and their depoliticised stance have largely been shaped by the instrumental approach of education, the pleasure-driven cultural industry, and the unique ideological landscape in China.
This article shows the use of mixed reality (MR) as a useful resource to improve the interpretation of archaeological heritage. It aims to contribute to the solution of understanding problems that frequently affect visitors to archaeological sites. It is developed with the user experience (UX) of visitors as its main axis, and user experience design (UXD) has been used as a methodology, an iterative process of continuous innovation that has resulted in an interpretive product consisting of an interactive application for smartphones and a viewer. To evaluate the UX, the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the principles of usability were used. It is about arousing positive emotions for improving the visitors’ experience to ease understanding of how buildings were put up and how daily life was like in such places and, consequently, obtaining a better interpretation and greater respect towards heritage.KeywordsMixed realityExperience designHeritage interpretationUX evaluationTAM
The training of 3D modeling professionals from the complexity of the software itself or the trends of the professional sector, often focuses on the mastery of a single main tool, perhaps complementing it with other more specific tools for texturing or digital sculpting. Students, when entering the labor market, even if they master the techniques in a software, often need to improve or expand their professional profile by learning other tools, adapting their previous knowledge transversely, almost having to start from scratch. In addition to this, there is a certain lack of unity, from the nomenclature, information architecture, or interaction, to make equivalent operations between these softwares. The creation of didactic materials that allow the acquisition of knowledge from the transversal mapping would help to reduce or optimize this adaptation process, while reinforcing the professional profile of 3D modeling students by providing them with complementary skills.
Tashbih, in Syrian vernacular, has long referred to a diverse constellation of practices and acts—invariably illegal and often articulated with violence or the threat of violence—perpetrated by individuals and groups, the Shabbiha, with deep (often kin- based) ties to the Baathist regime of President Hafez al-Assad and later his son, Bashar al-Assad. The ebb and flow of the role played by the Shabbiha since then and the meaning of Tashbih in Syria’s political culture has followed closely the fortunes of their patron, the Assad regime. This article will sketch the origins of the term, its underlying practices and antagonisms, and trace the fluctuation and diffusion of its meaning and application particularly following the 2011 uprising in Syria.
In today's world, it's impossible to think about social movements apart from the media, and it has become an obligation out of necessity to set alternative media channels in terms of social movements. The new media and social media networks have been used actively in the process of setting aforementioned alternative media channels. The use of alternative media as a means of criticism and resistance becomes possible with these media networks when they are used with effective communication strategies and techniques. Transmedia storytelling is the leading one among these effective communication strategies. Based on this assertion, in this study, how transmedia storytelling was used as a political advertising activity by the social movements will be analyzed through the example of Gezi Park protests that took place in Turkey in 2013.
This article suggests that algorithmic resistance might involve a particular and rarely considered kind of evasion—political disengagement. Based on interviews with ordinary Brazilian users of Facebook, it argues that some people may stop acting politically on social media platforms as a way of avoiding an algorithmic visibility regime that is felt as demeaning their civic voices. Three reasons given by users to explain their disengagement are discussed: the assumption that, by creating bubbles, algorithms render their citizenship useless; the understanding that being seen on Facebook entails unacceptable sacrifices to their values and well-being; and the distress caused by successfully attaining political visibility but being unable to fully control it. The article explores the normative ambiguities of this type of algorithmic resistance, contextualizing it in Brazil's autocratization process.
This chapter situates the study within broader academic research by reviewing several bodies of literature that cover authoritarianism studies in general terms; China’s brand of authoritarianism; and the rise of digital authoritarianism. It then describes and critiques the dominant conceptual model that is used to explain authoritarian governance in China—fragmented authoritarianism (FA). This study argues that FA struggles to explain the patterns of centralisation and shift in authority away from the state and towards the CCP under Xi’s leadership. The concept of party-centric governance (PCG) is developed as a more suitable alternative in characterising this new mode of governance, the implications of which for internet governance and policy are explored in the following chapters.KeywordsAuthoritarianism studiesGovernanceChinese politicsParty-centric governanceFragmented authoritarianismDigital authoritarianism
This article is a taxonomy of laws used by ‘unfree’ and ‘partly free’ countries to regulate social media platforms and their users. While there are many older laws that can have an effect on social media usage (such as laws on defamation, sedition, and terrorism as well as laws regulating the journalism industry) and some older pieces of legislation will be discussed, the focus of this article will be on regulations that specifically reference social media or the internet. It will explore two categories of regulations, each of which are subdivided into two types of legislation. The first category concerns laws that are targeted at social media users and is divided into laws that regulate the conduct of users and laws designed to dissuade people from using social media. The second category examines laws that are targeted at social media platforms (as opposed to their users) and first considers substantive regulations before moving on to look at procedural regulations. This article attempts to capture the complex interactions between public and private actors. This article also tries to shed light on the morass of local laws that platforms must navigate in order to maintain access to an ever-growing number of jurisdictions.
There is a huge investment done on Buildings and Classrooms of Higher Education System. Do we really need
that? The concepts of future classrooms, multimedia labs or active learning space has recently gained
prominence in higher learning education system (Scannell, 2002). This study tries to explore whether more
flexible, reconfigurable and modern classrooms layouts, where technology and active pedagogical practices
can be incorporated into an easier way is the future of class rooms. A study is conducted on 42 researchers of
RTM Nagpur University with an aim to capture what should be future class rooms look line. The data was
collected through focus group methodology. Researchers were asked to form a group of four to five members
in each group, and visualize the future class rooms and frame it on chart paper.
سعت هذه الدراسة للبحث في دور الفيس بوك كوسيلة اتصال جديدة لناشطيّ الحركات الاجتماعية حول بلدان العالم العربي، وما هي دوافعهم في استخدامها والتحديات التي يواجهونها. اليوم، وبسبب عدم المساواة الاجتماعية، والتهميش ومصادرة الحريات، وتأخر الحكومات العربية في تعديل نصوصها الدستورية بما يتناسب مع روح العصر، أخذ الناشطون من كافة الدول العربية في استغلال حساباتهم الشخصية وإقامة الصفحات لمحاولة إجراء تغييراتٍ شاملة في الهياكل السياسية والاجتماعية السائدة.
باستخدام منهج المسح المعتمد على استبيانات ((Google Forms)) المرسل إلى عينة (قصدية/كرة الثلج) قوامها (80) من الناشطين عبر خاصية التراسل الداخلي على شبكة الفيس بوك، توصلت الدراسة لمجموعة من النتائج نوجز أهمها في النقاط الآتية:
أغلب أفراد العينة ينشطون في حركات " الدولة المدنية "، وقد بدأ نشاطهم عبر الشبكة في الفترة (2015-2019)؛ ويفضل هؤلاء الاعتماد على التدوين الحر من خلال حساباتهم الرسمية ثم دعوة الآخرين لمشاركة المنشورات على نطاقٍ واسع كطرق لدعم الحركات التي ينخرطون فيها. ويشارك معظمهم في المناقشات المتعلقة بقضايا الحركات الاجتماعية. أما الذين يمتنعون عن المشاركة في المناقشات فتلخصت دوافعهم في: لتجنب المضايقات والتهديدات من المستخدمين الآخرين، والتطرف الإيديولوجي لدى البعض، الدخول في النقاشات دون جدوى، فضلاً عن سذاجة وتطرف الرأي المعارض. وقد أثرت في هذا المحور متغيرات: الجنس، السن، المستوى المعيشي والانتماء الجغرافي والتوجه الإيديولوجي.
تمثلت دوافع الناشطين في استخدام شبكة الفيس بوك لأنها الوسيلة الأنسب لهم، ولكون وسائل الإعلام الخاصة تتبنى توجهات تختلف عن توجهات الناشطين، وتُخضع مضامينها لرقابة مشددة؛ وتشعرهم الشبكة بالانتماء نحو القضية المشتركة، ولأنه يسهل لهم التخطيط والتنسيق على نحو فعال، ويوصل أصواتهم المقموعة إلى الرأي العام حول العالم.
يتمثل دور شبكة الفيس بوك في أنها تساهم في فتح باب حرية التعبير وتوجيه الرأي العام للحركة، وإدانة مختلف الجرائم والانتهاكات، ودعم القضايا المغلقة وإبرازها، وفي تعبئة
الاحتجاجات وتغطيتها، وصناعة الخطاب الايديولوجي للناشط دون أي إشراف حكومي، ومتابعة أخبار المعتقلين السياسيين والحقوقيين.
يستخدم غالبية الناشطين في العالم العربي هويات حقيقية في تنفيذ نشاطاتهم عبر الشبكة، وذلك لإثبات وجودهم وأن لديهم آراء للتعبير عنها. قلة منهم يستخدمون هويات مزيفة لتجنب المضايقات والتهديدات. قيّم ناشطو شبكة الفيس بوك بأنها مساحة فعالة لدعم الحركات الاجتماعية. وعلى الرغم من ذلك، فإنه لا يخلو من مجموعة من التحديات التي يواجهونها في أداء أنشطتهم وهي: الإفراط في الابلاغ وتعليق انشطة حساباتهم مثل حظر النشر والتعليق ...الخ، فضلاً عن المخاطر التي تمثلت في تعرضهم للسب والسخرية. وقد أثرت في هذا المحور جميع المتغيرات ما عدا متغير الجنس والانتماء الجغرافي.
الكلمات المفتاحية: شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي، الفيس بوك، الحركات الاجتماعية، الناشطين.
Recent scholarship indicates that the rise of networked grassroots protests points to a new mode of organizing activism, connective action. Unlike social movement organization-led collective actions, connective actions are organized by non-human agents – digital networks and platforms – because of the latter’s inherent connectivity in assembling people, information and resources scattered across digital spaces into relatively cohesive protest networks. Yet, not all digital platforms are designed to afford unlimited connections; ‘walled gardens’ and proprietary systems disconnect more than connecting. WeChat, a China-based social media platform, spearheads in engineering an enclosed digital ecosystem, due to China’s political economy. How can protest networks develop in such an insulated environment? This study examines a WeChat-based protest campaign organized mainly by Chinese Americans to illustrate the organizing dynamics on disconnected platforms. Relying on interviews, observation and textual analysis, the findings show that WeChat, instead of acting as a non-human organizer, disorganized the mobilization by impeding the free flow of information and resources. To head off the platform-led barriers, activists performed articulative labor to cross boundaries, bridge gaps and broker resources, which finally articulated the protest network in this digitally disconnective environment. As contemporary digital landscapes become increasingly fragmented, this study not only sheds light on the significant yet hidden articulative labor in networked activism but also prompts us to rethink connective action and other technological deterministic models’ valorization of non-human agency and to reconsider the relationship of human and non-human agency in constituting collective actions and sociality in general.
The climate crisis is one of the largest global challenges that humanity has ever faced.
Despite the scientific consensus on the threat, action is not occurring on the pace or level
needed to stave off the consequences. As climate change is made up by complex and
conjoined causes and effects, the issue is also riddled with communicative challenges which
those calling for action need to tackle. Climate change communication research has,
however, mainly focused on how traditional news media frame the climate change issue
and overlooks climate activist and movement groups. This despite these actors being key
for shifting public perceptions and public opinion. Although research on other
communication actors exist, it is far from extensive and the research field overlooks the
publics perceptions of the sender in relation to the construction of climate messages.
Through survey data and an experiment, this doctoral thesis explores the public’s
inclination towards different protest action repertoires and addresses the research gap in
the climate movement message construction. Herein, the actions and words of three
subgroups within the larger environmental movement are considered as one part of a larger
message whole. The groups chosen action repertoires are viewed as part of the activists’
performed message and the linguistic communication styles created by lexical choices
related to emotional appeals are part of the activists’ verbal/textual message. The results
indicate that there is much to be gained from adhering to an alignment between lexical
choices and action repertoires. Alignment may be key for understanding why some
movement subgroups are successful in inspiring certain actions whilst others inspire other
actions. Communication-action alignment is a way to approach the interconnectedness of
actions and words for complex and abstract issues that require message recipients to
construct consonant mental models to break potential cognitive dissonance.
Authoritarian regimes and other ‘bad’ actors in the Middle East are using social media for large scale deception operations. With little transparency from tech companies and poor regulation around disinformation, monitoring and tracking those operations falls uncomfortably upon journalists, activists and academics.[1] It is therefore necessary to share and discuss emerging techniques of identifying deception with academics across disciplines. It is also important to be transparent about detection methods in an environment where the terms ‘bot’ and ‘troll’ are frequently deployed against those who have opposing views. Being clear about methods of identifying deception can be instructive in a number of ways. Without identifying and acknowledging such deception, sociological studies of social media will inevitably be plagued with ‘corrupted’ data. Scholars using social media data must be adept at filtering out such deception.
Repression research examines the causes and consequences of actions or policies that are meant to, or actually do, raise the costs of activism, protest, and/or social movement activity. The rise of digital and social media has brought substantial increases in attention to the repression of digital activists and movements and/or to the use of digital tools in repression, which is spread across many disciplines and areas of study. We organize and review this growing welter of research under the concept of digital repression by expanding a typology that distinguishes actions based on actor type, whether actions are overt or covert, and whether behaviors are shaped by coercion or channeling. This delineation between broadly different forms of digital repression allows researchers to develop expectations about digital repression, better understand what is "new" about digital repression in terms of explanatory factors, and better understand the consequences of digital repression.
Este trabajo esboza un estado de la cuestión sobre la participación política en Twitter realizado con el objetivo de mapear las formas de interacción que se están estudiando, para dilucidar hasta dónde el panorama que proyectan esos estudios es suficiente para explicar y comprender los entresijos de lo que
ocurre con este fenómeno entre los usuarios que conforman el sector más amplio en la red: la población común y corriente. El tema es relevante porque si bien Twitter es la red social política de preferencia tanto para los investigadores como para los usuarios, no se encuentran estudios de las conversaciones que realizan ciudadanos de a pie sin vínculos entre ellos ni lazos que los integren con una causa, movimiento, hashtag o partido político. El texto está integrado por cuatro apartados, formados inductivamente con
lo que reveló una exploración de la literatura reciente realizada con la teoría fundamentada: 1) Twitter en la esfera pública, 2) efectos sociales de Twitter en la participación política, 3) Twitter en activismo, protestas y movilizaciones, y 4) relación entre Twitter y periodistas o medios de comunicación. Las conclusiones apuntan a que los estudios sociales ofrecen una idea incompleta de las prácticas comunicativas de asuntos políticos en Twitter y que los usuarios que conforman el colectivo más grande en Twitter no aparecen en la literatura. Se propone el concepto ‘deshilvanado’ para designar a esos usuarios de a pie.
This article examines social media as a site for identity negotiation and community building among Roma in the Czech Republic. As Roma are continually denied authority over the construction of their identities, their Czech-ness, claim to physical spaces, and generally made to feel that they do not belong—both in the material and symbolic sense—this article examines how individual activists and community organizers utilize media as a resource to combat spatial alienation. This ethnographic study pays close attention to the cultivation of community through Facebook groups, the utilization of groups and event pages to organize, and the affordances and challenges of moving online efforts offline. At the same time, this article explores tensions and contradictions of these digital spaces that may involve issues like the lack of resources and the fragmentation of community—and of communal space—by such variables as age, language, and technological access and literacy. Ultimately, this article suggests that social media may embody both emotional and material places manifesting as additional/alternative places to negotiate identities and belonging for Roma in the Czech Republic. The findings of this research carry important implications for those with complicated relationships to home(lands), including geographically displaced people.
Discusses the role of different media in the creation and dissemination of fear
Examines the mechanisms of persuasion that trigger willingness to accept extreme measures or actions during crises
Argues that fear is recurrently used by political and social actors to increase their own power in different societies
Based on work on the Arab Uprisings, this chapter shows how authoritarian regimes legitimize themselves as centres of power to colonize the digital public spheres. They rely on the dissemination of fear during times to stabilize the public mobilization and discredit social movements who challenge them. Using empirical examples, this chapter is interested in the qualitative thematic analysis of regimes’ arguments that spread fear, and connects them to the political, social and cultural access points in the Arab societies. The findings show how the regime framed any challenging potential for change as chaos and destabilization. The findings of three case studies show that securitization strategies were a central thread as on one level the Tahrir uprising was against the police, representing a repressive coercive state apparatus. In a conservative patriarchal society, the three cases showed how the need of security and stability is constructed through xenophobic, conservative and exclusive argumentation. Long before the US- and Euro-centric realization that social media contribute to polarized communication instead of Habermasian consensus, post-truth mediated politics were born in the MENA region.
The chapter advocates for an intermedia and transnational perspective on the persistent relation between media and fear and demonstrates how the creation or promotion of fear through the media has been a prevalent process used to increase citizens’ perception of threat throughout the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. It argues that one needs to understand the imbricated relationship between fear and threat in order to comprehend the mechanisms of persuasion used by political and various social actors in different media ecologies. Guiding us through the chapters of the volume, the authors argue that media must be reflected in its capacity for weaponizing and downplaying fear to guide public opinion. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated how using the media to steer fear can sometimes be highly functional and beneficial, but fear can also be used to promote agendas of exclusion and to galvanize against the ‘other’. Last, the chapter also argues that regardless of changing media technologies and historical contexts the media remain a battlefield used by political agents and social movements to spread and counter fear, aiming to impact on people’s perception of reality and their sense of urgency.
Starting with the notion of ‘wresting control from the elders’ as a defining feature of the imaginary of revolution, this part of the book examines how the school climate strikes (SCS) of 2019–2020 enacts this orientation, in being a youth activist movement attempting to draw attention to the ongoing climate apocalypse. This section examines data on the profile, scale, and mobilisation of young strikers in this emerging movement and considers the unique combinations of old and new coalitions, media use, and ways of organising for action that constitute contemporary youth activisms. This allows a consideration of the clear departures of this movement from dominant concerns and preoccupations voiced in existing literature on youth activism. The response from authorities to the movement is also critically discussed as a way of drawing attention to the treatment of the category of youth. The section ends with an analysis of the images of and messages on the handwritten placards of school strikers across the globe to allow a reading of these acts as acts of public pedagogy. The distinct pedagogies of this imaginary as embodied through the movement lie in the expanded notions of the public, and the attempts to cultivate of new aesthetic for the post-Anthropocene.
While it is increasingly recognised that commercial social media platforms are not neutral tools for online activism, our knowledge of how such platforms concretely intervene in user activities and shape the dynamics of online activism remains limited. This article focuses on analysing the strategies and mechanisms that have been used by Sina Weibo to manage online contention. Based on interviews with Weibo operators and opinion leaders, and analysis of relevant cases and documents, this article finds that in its early days Weibo actively facilitated the production and spread of online contention to establish itself as a key avenue for users to discuss and follow the development of unfolding incidents. Meanwhile, subtle strategies were applied to mitigate the tension between engaging users and conducting censorship. By showing how Weibo managed online contention in order to advance its own commercial interests, this article contributes to a deeper understanding of the role social media platforms play in online activism.
This article is a contribution to the debate about the role of the Internet in mobilizations for political and social change, drawing on interviews and observations during the Egyptian revolution. We propose distinguishing between the use of the Internet as a tool by those seeking to bring about change from below, and the Internet's role as a space where collective dissent can be articulated. We argue that it is important to go beyond three sets of polemics. First, we argue for transcending the debate between utopian and dystopian perspectives on the role of the Internet in political change. Second, we propose a shift away from perspectives that isolate the Internet from other media by examining the powerful synergy between social media and satellite broadcasters during the January 25 uprising. And finally, we call for an understanding of the dialectical relationship between online and offline political action. The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have renewed and repolarized debates over the role of the Internet in mobilizations for political and social change. While Morozov's (2011) contention that, faced with the threat of revolution, an embattled government would simply try and pull the plug on the Internet proved to be correct, 1 the communications shutdown in Egypt neither stopped the protests, nor prevented the protesters from communicating with the outside world. In fact, despite the media hype about "Facebook Revolutions," the Egyptian activists we interviewed rightly reject simplistic claims that technology somehow caused the 2011 uprisings, and they say it undermines the agency of the millions of people who participated in the movement that brought down Hosni Mubarak. Our analysis here attempts to go beyond three sets of counterposed polemics. First, we reject the false polarization of utopian/dystopian views of the Internet and recognize that the Internet is both a product of imperialist and capitalist logics and something that is simultaneously used by millions in the struggle to resist those logics. As we shall explain, it is unsatisfactory to counterpose assertions that the Internet and other forms of new media either have no effect on the dynamic of revolution with assertions 1 Details of the Internet shutdown and restoration can be found on the Renesys blog, J. Cowie, (January 27, 2011; February 2, 2011).
The objective of this article is to ground the debate about the connection between socialmedia and popular uprisings in the specific context of recent social and political trends inEgypt. This is crucial when attempting to draw conclusions about the factors andmechanisms that produced Egypt’s January 25, 2011, revolution and, more importantly,whether social media can contribute to building a new political culture to support therevolution. Although it took just 18 days of protests to force the resignation of PresidentMubarak, constructing a new political culture will be a slower and more challengingprocess. If social media are to provide a real channel for political debate and activism,they must connect with traditional forms of media and civil society. This will ensure thatthe dialogue about Egypt’s future remains national rather than retreating to the virtual
In Tunisia, protesters escalated calls for the restoration of the country's suspended constitution. Meanwhile, Egyptians rose in revolt as strikes across the country brought daily life to a halt and toppled the government. In Libya, provincial leaders worked feverishly to strengthen their newly independent republic. It was 1919. That year's events demonstrate that the global discussion of information and expectations -- so vividly on display in Tahrir Square this past winter -- is not a result of the Internet and social media. The uprisings of 1919 also suggest that the calculated spread of popular movements, seen across the Arab world last winter, is not a new phenomenon. The important story about the 2011 Arab revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya is not how the globalization of the norms of civic engagement shaped the protesters' aspirations. Nor is it about how activists used technology to share ideas and tactics. Instead, the critical issue is how and why these ambitions and techniques resonated in their various local contexts.
The Twitter Revolutions of 2009 reinvigorated the question of whether new social media have any real effect on contentious politics. In this article, the authors argue that evaluating the relation between transforming communication technologies and collective action demands recognizing how such technologies infuse specific protest ecologies. This includes looking beyond informational functions to the role of social media as organizing mechanisms and recognizing that traces of these media may reflect larger organizational schemes. Three points become salient in the case of Twitter against this background: (a) Twitter streams represent crosscutting networking mechanisms in a protest ecology, (b) they embed and are embedded in various kinds of gatekeeping processes, and (c) they reflect changing dynamics in the ecology over time. The authors illustrate their argument with reference to two hashtags used in the protests around the 2009 United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen.
We propose an improved theoretical approach to the rich variety of collective action now present in public life. Toward this end, we advance a conception of collective action as communicative in nature, and offer a two-dimensional model of collective action space, comprising dimensions for (a) the mode of interpersonal interaction and (b) the mode of engagement that shapes interaction. We illustrate the perspective by describing the location of a variety of contemporary collective action groups within it and by an explication of the space that reveals its utility for making sense of modern collective action efforts. Specifically, we apply the collective action space to illustrate the changing presence of collective action groups over time, deviations in collective action groups through changes in size, shape, and location, and variations in the experiences and motivations of people engaged in collective action efforts. Finally, we show how our communicative approach to collective action can integrate the insights of several theoretical traditions, including collective action theory, social capital theory, and aspects of organization theory.
Digital communication has become a more perilous activity, particularly for activists, political dissidents, and independent media. The recent surge in digital activism that has helped to shape the Arab spring has been met with stiff resistance by governments in the region intent on reducing the impact of digital organizing and independent media. No longer content with Internet filtering, many governments in the Middle East and around the world are using a variety of technological and offline strategies to go after online media and digital activists.In this report we describe the results of a survey of 98 bloggers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) carried out in May 2011 in order to study bloggers’ perceptions of online risk and the actions they take to address digital communications security, including both Internet and cell phone use. The survey was implemented in the wake of the Arab spring and documents a proliferation of online security problems among the respondents. In the survey, we address the respondents’ perceptions of online risk, their knowledge of digital security practices, and their reported online security practices. The survey results indicate that there is much room for improving online security practices, even among this sample of respondents who are likely to have relatively high technical knowledge and experience.
This paper analyses the emergence of new institutions for governing the provision of Internet-based business services. It draws upon John R Commons' account of the emergence of working rules in support of new forms of collective action.
This paper examines the ethics of the practice of information warfare at both the national and corporate levels. Initially examining the present and past actions of individual hackers, it moves to the more organised, future military and economic warfare scenarios. It examines the lack of legal or policy initiatives in this area.
The Tahrir Data Project gathers empirical data on media use during the Egyptian revolution of January and February 2011. The Project consists of three data sets documenting media use by protesters, by coordinators, and by transnational audiences. Preliminary descriptive analysis of the data suggests that social media use was not dominant in demonstrations, but may have played an important role in connecting and motivating protesters. Metrics for media use by protesters indicate a strong presence of activities and characteristics commonly associated with communication in protests to social media and social media users. These metrics, along with preliminary data on coordinator strategies and preliminary analysis of the #jan25 tweet set, suggest an important but complex role played by social media in the Egyptian revolution of 2011. The data and preliminary analysis are presented here, together with a number of research questions for further study.
The "alarming and impassioned"* book on how the Internet is redefining constitutional law, now reissued as the first popular book revised online by its readers (* New York Times )
There's a common belief that cyberspace cannot be regulated-that it is, in its very essence, immune from the government's (or anyone else's) control. Code , first published in 2000, argues that this belief is wrong. It is not in the nature of cyberspace to be unregulable; cyberspace has no "nature." It only has code-the software and hardware that make cyberspace what it is. That code can create a place of freedom-as the original architecture of the Net did-or a place of oppressive control. Under the influence of commerce, cyberpsace is becoming a highly regulable space, where behavior is much more tightly controlled than in real space. But that's not inevitable either. We can-we must-choose what kind of cyberspace we want and what freedoms we will guarantee. These choices are all about architecture: about what kind of code will govern cyberspace, and who will control it. In this realm, code is the most significant form of law, and it is up to lawyers, policymakers, and especially citizens to decide what values that code embodies.
Since its original publication, this seminal book has earned the status of a minor classic. This second edition, or Version 2.0, has been prepared through the author's wiki, a web site that allows readers to edit the text, making this the first reader-edited revision of a popular book.
Morozov is absolutely right to point out that other countries—not in the set analyzed in Digital Origins—might reveal different paths toward or away from democratic government. But a quick look at some of the examples shows that they do not directly conflict with my argument that the proliferation of consumer electronics in countries with an active civil society and limited resource wealth seems to come with democratic consequences. China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela are often offered as examples of how a tough regime can use digital media to oppress their citizens.
We propose an improved theoretical approach to the rich variety of collective action now present in public life. Toward this end, we advance a conception of collective action as communicative in nature, and offer a two-dimensional model of collective action space, comprising dimensions for (a) the mode of interpersonal interaction and (b) the mode of engagement that shapes interaction. We illustrate the perspective by describing the location of a variety of contemporary collective action groups within it and by an explication of the space that reveals its utility for making sense of modern collective action efforts. Specifically, we apply the collective action space to illustrate the changing presence of collective action groups over time, deviations in collective action groups through changes in size, shape, and location, and variations in the experiences and motivations of people engaged in collective action efforts. Finally, we show how our communicative approach to collective action can integrate the insights of several theoretical traditions, including collective action theory, social capital theory, and aspects of organization theory.
Much of the political communication scholarship concerning state—media relations concludes that the media are highly dependent on and even subservient to the state. This is particular true during wartime. Partial and conditionally based exceptions to this general conclusion include event-driven news and the cascade model. We argue that another important exception to standard conclusions regarding state—media relations involves transnational advocacy organizations and epistemic communities.
My thoughts on the Internet were recently jogged by an experience with a slightly older medium, namely, satellite television. In late March 2007 I attended the Third Annual Al-Jazeera Forum, in Doha. Notwithstanding the attendance of a few academics like me, the forum was largely a networking opportunity for professional journalists, just as MESA is for professional Middle East studies academics. However, unlike MESA, forum presenters, as well as the audience, were handpicked. Even the expenses of the attendees were subsidized (my hotel bill was paid by al-Jazeera). This inevitably made the event an exercise in open self-promotion for al-Jazeera.
Collective action theory, which is widely applied to explain human phenomena in which public goods are at stake, traditionally rests on at least two main tenets: that individuals confront discrete decisions about free riding and that formal organization is central to locating and contacting potential participants in collective action, motivating them, and coordinating their actions. Recent uses of technologies of information and communication for collective action appear in some instances to violate these two tenets. In order to explain these, we reconceptualize collective action as a phenomenon of boundary crossing between private and public domains. We show how a reconceptualized theory of collective action can better account for certain contemporary phenomena, and we situate traditional collective action theory as a special case of our expanded theory.
It is easy now to see why Egypt's revolution had to happen, and why President Hosni Mubarak's thirty-year reign had to end in the spectacular manner in which it did. Given a combustible mix of a failing regime, an aging leader, and a people increasingly willing to confront both, one might conclude that the revolution was not only inevitable, but overdetermined. Yet those of us who study the region not only failed to predict the regime's collapse, we actually saw it as an exemplar of something we called "durable authoritarianism"—a new breed of modern dictatorship that had figured out how to tame the political, economic, and social forces that routinely did in autocracy's lesser variants. The institutional underpinnings of durable authoritarianism, however, were far flimsier than previously thought.
The uprisings which swept across the Arab world beginning in December 2010 pose a serious challenge to many of the core findings of the political science literature focused on the durability of the authoritarian Middle Eastern state. The impact of social media on contentious politics represents one of the many areas which will require significant new thinking. The dramatic change in the information environment over the last decade has changed individual competencies, the ability to organize for collective action, and the transmission of information from the local to the international level. It has also strengthened some of the core competencies of authoritarian states even as it has undermined others. The long term evolution of a new kind of public sphere may matter more than immediate political outcomes, however. Rigorous testing of competing hypotheses about the impact of the new social media will require not only conceptual development but also the use of new kinds of data analysis not traditionally adopted in Middle East area studies.
This article investigates Facebook users' awareness of privacy issues and perceived benefits and risks of utilizing Facebook. Research found that Facebook is deeply integrated in users' daily lives through specific routines and rituals. Users claimed to understand privacy issues, yet reported uploading large amounts of personal information. Risks to privacy invasion were ascribed more to others than to the self. However, users reporting privacy invasion were more likely to change privacy settings than those merely hearing about others' privacy invasions. Results suggest that this lax attitude may be based on a combination of high gratification, usage patterns, and a psychological mechanism similar to third-person effect. Safer use of social network services would thus require changes in user attitude.
Providing a complete portal to the world of case study research, the Fourth Edition of Robert K. Yin's bestselling text Case Study Research offers comprehensive coverage of the design and use of the case study method as a valid research tool. This thoroughly revised text now covers more than 50 case studies (approximately 25% new), gives fresh attention to quantitative analyses, discusses more fully the use of mixed methods research designs, and includes new methodological insights. The book's coverage of case study research and how it is applied in practice gives readers access to exemplary case studies drawn from a wide variety of academic and applied fields.Key Features of the Fourth Edition Highlights each specific research feature through 44 boxed vignettes that feature previously published case studies Provides methodological insights to show the similarities between case studies and other social science methods Suggests a three-stage approach to help readers define the initial questions they will consider in their own case study research Covers new material on human subjects protection, the role of Institutional Review Boards, and the interplay between obtaining IRB approval and the final development of the case study protocol and conduct of a pilot case Includes an overall graphic of the entire case study research process at the beginning of the book, then highlights the steps in the process through graphics that appear at the outset of all the chapters that follow Offers in-text learning aids including 'tips' that pose key questions and answers at the beginning of each chapter, practical exercises, endnotes, and a new cross-referencing tableCase Study Research, Fourth Edition is ideal for courses in departments of Education, Business and Management, Nursing and Public Health, Public Administration, Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science.
This article presents an initial snapshot, based on an online survey of weblog authors, of bloggers' subjective sense of privacy, and of their perceptions of liability. The findings suggest that the social norms of bloggers are emergent and self-imposed. When confronted with questions of defamation and legal liability, respondents in the survey expressed contradictions between their actions and their knowledge of how the technology works. They generally believed that they were liable for what they published online, although they were not concerned about the persistence of their entries. In general, bloggers do not feel as if they know their audiences. For the most part, blog authors have no control over who accesses their entries, and this inability to define their audiences leads them to make a number of assumptions about who their readers are.
This Note builds on Larry Levsig's famous formulation that "code is law" to argue that Lessig was wrong to equate computer software with physical architecture. Although software resembles both law and architecture in its power to constrain behavior, it has features that distinguish it from both. The Note identifies four relevant attributes of software: It is ruleish, potentially nontransparent, impossible to ignore, and vulnerable to sudden failure. By assessing the impact of these characteristics in a given context, one can decide whether software is a good or a bad choice to solve a regulatory problem.
Online social media confound many of our familiar expectaitons about privacy. Contrary to popular myth, users of social software like Facebook do care about privacy, deserve it, and have trouble securing it for themselves. Moreover, traditional database-focused privacy regulations on the Fair Information Practices model, while often worthwhile, fail to engage with the distinctively social aspects of these online services.Instead, online privacy law should take inspiration from a perhaps surprising quarter: product-safety law. A web site that directs users' personal information in ways they don't expect is a defectively designed product, and many concepts from products liability law could usefully be applied to the structurally similar problem of privacy in social software. After setting the scene with a discussion of how people use Facebook and why standard assumptions about privacy and privacy law fail, this essay examines the parallel between physically safe products and privacy-safe social software. It illustrates the value of the product-safety approach by considering another ripped-from-the-headlines example: Google Buzz.Forthcoming in a June 2010 symposium issue of the Widener Law Journal.
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Institutions The new institutionalism in organizational analysis Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Syria wages cyber warfare as websites hacked. Associated Press
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Lessons from the identity trail: Anonymity, privacy and identity in a networked society
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