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Does Social Media have the power to change or contribute to the political communication, mobilisation, and organisation of social movements?
Facebook and Twitter have been used as a tool for political expression and have been the main factors in various social movements around the world.
Hundreds of examples can be used to articulate the importance Facebook and Twitter have played in the development of social movements, the one that interests me the most, however, is the Arab Spring Movement. Just to run a brief historical background of what’s been happening in the world at that time and what lead to the Arab Spring, I would like to highlight the main reasons behind the uprising:
Arab regimes have gone through a large demographic population growth that unfortunately could not be matched with the political and economic development in most Arab States.
Inevitably, low living standards and the constant change of political power between the left and right wing led to unemployment.
People grew tired of their governments as some of the Arab dictators have ruled for decades and were deemed corrupted.
The countries that were involved in the Arab Spring Uprisings were: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Morocco, and Jordan.
I always wondered who decides which social movements deserve more global media attention and whether there is a digital inequality regarding this matter. Technology promises to free us from the arduous work required to build a social movement but even if poor and working-class people can overcome the costs and other barriers to internet access, fear, intimidation, and retaliation can limit their participation in comparison to their wealthy counterparts.
Schradie (2019) in her book “The Revolution That Wasn’t” asks the following questions: “Is digital activism as prevalent as we think? What kinds of groups use digital technology for activism? What are the factors that determine how a group uses these tools? What are the mechanisms behind differences in internet use for activism? Has digital activism truly created a level playing field where all groups and points of view can equally advocate for their cause?”
Posting on social media to raise awareness of a situation may involve minimal commitment, but it actually takes time, money and effort to engage in internet activism. As political groups shift online, the disparity in costs and power may aggravate inequalities within the social movements, making it more difficult for groups with lower resources and more working-class members to take collective action.
If we were to pinpoint what makes a social movement successful we could say that is when like-minded people come together to form a collective and engage in social issues by making clear purposes and objectives for their movement. A form of leadership is required, since, if the movement lacks representatives, people find it hard to identify or relate to its nature. Especially with self-proclaimed leaders and without a central decision-making structure, there is a high chance of failure to deliver a substantial change. Another important factor in the success of a movement is vigorous advocacy, people who publicly support your cause and spread the news about the movement. In the digital era, this could be easily achieved through the dissemination of your movement on social media platforms. You don’t have to have a strong connection to the traditional media to get your point through – you can generate the solidarity needed to undertake collective action by creating and maintaining an active and supportive internet audience. Nonetheless, there is the question of what happens when right-wing news and “movements” are at the forefront of digital activism and politics.
Middle and upper-class members have greater online access, time and skills to use social media accordingly, they could afford a better infrastructure and staffing resources to make their points come across as more effective and efficient. Lower-class participation online lacks the vertical organisation that is required and they face bureaucracy in their attempt to maintain their participation online. Hassanein (Granillo 2020) believes that “the ability to maintain a free, fair, accessible, neutral, virtual space, the ability to have high speed, affordable access for every resident of this country is contingent upon us demanding that our government regulate the internet as a utility […] our ability to use digital spaces for activating and organizing to change our physical environment is largely contingent upon those infrastructures being publicly owned.
A great example of this is the anti-vax movement that occurred in the 21st century after parents were reluctant to immunize their kids from measles or other diseases. According to disease experts, the parents who are least likely to vaccinate their children live in some of the country’s most affluent neighbourhoods, people who have excellent access to healthcare and are well-educated. While some low-income communities of colour are “under-vaccinated” for religious or financial reasons, studies published in the American Journal of Public Health show that the parents who choose not to vaccinate for “philosophical reasons” are mostly white and wealthy. They have more free time than lower-income parents, which they can spend reading anti-vaccine forums and websites and applying for state-specific exemptions required to avoid school immunisation laws. They also use Facebook and other platforms to spread their views and fake news, such as vaccines causing autism or containing harmful toxins, both of which have been thoroughly debunked.
So is social media helping movements turn towards more democratic participation? Can we overcome power imbalances? Schradie ( 2019 p.9) suggests that “this is the false promise of digital activism. Rather than creating a level playing field, where every- one’s voices are equal, the internet is creating a growing disparity that is giving an edge to some groups in surprising and unexpected ways. Digital activism may have some advantages, but not for everyone.”
References:
Granillo, G. (2020) The role of social media in Social Movements, Portland Monthly. Portland Monthly. Available at: https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2020/06/the-role-of-social-media-in-social-movements (Accessed: November 4, 2022).
Schradie, J. (2019) The revolution that wasn’t: How digital activism favors conservatives. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Every year on 28th October, Cyprus celebrates the anniversary of Metaxas’ “Ochi” in response to the ultimatum of the Italian authorities that requested Greece’s participation on the side of the Axis powers in the Second World War. On this day Greek people celebrate the “strength” of our Greek ancestors against fascism – the heroic resistance of 1940, with anniversary parades and a public holiday.
However, this year was different than the previous ones, unfortunately, this year on October 28, serious incidents broke out at the Pournara First Reception Center, where they escalated into fires, resulting in the evacuation of the camp. Due to the national anniversary parade, the Police had turned their attention to Lord Byron Street, resulting in the Forces not arriving as timely as they should have. But reporters did arrive on time and the spread of the events on the internet was lightning fast.
Misinformation on migration is not new, every time there is a news story about an incident, the narrative of the story has a bad protagonist – the immigrant, “the foreigner who does not respect our country”. I have observed countless times missing information and exaggeration that spreads racism and alienation towards foreigners. When receiving the news about something that occurred, we have information only about “the result” and the climax of the situation – we have no clear information about what led there. What caused it and why those people reacted the way they did? Given that this is a very sensitive and delicate matter, obviously confidential information cannot escape the “doors” of the camp. But traditional media could at least maintain a neutral and objective stance.
“The terms “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “propaganda” are sometimes used interchangeably, with shifting and overlapping definitions. All three concern false or misleading messages spread under the guise of informative content, whether in the form of elite communication, online messages, advertising, or published articles.” (Guess and Lyons, 2020 p.10). It is becoming increasingly clear that almost any interaction, beyond first hand perception, is filtered either through institutions, like media and government, or other people – to some extent. Making objectively verifiable truth, beyond the scope of the scientific method, an unobtainable aspect of knowledge. This exemplifies why empirical research has such a vital part to play. Giving clear boundaries to what is under its purview, by exclusively dealing with directly verifiable claims, it strengthens confidence through a reasonable consensus of the relevant experts. This, however, does not eliminate disagreement over facts, although it may help curtail a majority of the issue. This leads to unverifiable claims not being classified as misinformation, due to the narrow definitions.
So on the day that the Greek people of Cyprus celebrate the resistance against fascism, a part of the Cypriot population decides to participate in the online court against immigrants with “fascist” and racist comments. People who suffered wars and immigrated abroad for a better future choose to close their doors to asylum seekers from third countries. “Whereas the fascist authoritarian extreme right was a marginal political phenomenon in many democratic countries 30 years ago, it has in a relatively short period of time become a strong, powerful and emboldened segment of the mainstream right with ideas and viewpoints once considered deviant and morally repugnant today confidently asserted as the new common sense and increasingly shaping public policy as it only suffices to refer to current immigration policies.” (Cammaerts, 2022 p. 731). In this case social media plays devil’s advocate and everyone uses the platforms to vent their anger.
The media forgets to mention that Cyprus receives funds to maintain the camp, a first reception centre that houses twice as many people as the infrastructure can handle.There are traffickers who profit from the “importation” of asylum seekers into Cyprus. The status quo is therefore maintained with The European Union, in essence, paying to shift the burden of the immigration crisis towards border countries, like Cyprus, with these countries having an incentive to keep the current system in place in order to maintain funding.
To be objective and fair, many of the asylum seekers do not meet the criteria needed to be considered appeals. According to the Cypriot Refugee law, “a refugee is recognized as a person who, due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality or membership of a specific social group or political opinions, is outside the country of his origin and is unable, or, due to such fear, is not willing, to avail himself of the protection of that country, or a person, who has no nationality, who, while outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of these circumstances, is unable or, on account of the fear thereof, is not willing to return to it and to which Article 5 does not apply.”
The Cypriot authorities speak of an attempt from Turkey to change the demographics of the island since now the percentage of asylum seekers is equivalent to 5% of the total population of the Republic of Cyprus. The political game continues with both parties blaming each other without making substantial decisions. On the other hand, residents of the area are frightened by the situation prevailing in the centre and immediately request the intervention of the president, while others request the removal of the camp from the village of Kokkinotrimithia.
So how do social networking platforms contribute to misinformation? Is the internet a place where you can abdicate responsibility and create your own version of what’s real? What is the truth and how can you distinguish it when you are the recipient of various political agendas?
References:
Cammaerts, B. (2022). The abnormalisation of social justice: The ‘anti-woke culture war’ discourse in the UK. Discourse & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/09579265221095407
Guess, A. M. and Lyons, B. A. (2020) “Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Propaganda,” in Persily, N. and Tucker, J. A. (eds) Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (SSRC Anxieties of Democracy), pp. 10–33.
Ο περί Προσφύγων Νόμος του 2000 – 6(I)/2000 (no date). Available at: http://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/2000_1_6/full.html (Accessed: October 29, 2022).
The “Gilets Jaunes” movement is assumed to have been the biggest challenge to Emmanuel Macron’s presidency in 2018. Starting in early November of the same year, ‘Gilets Jaunes (yellow vests) were the cause of a social uprising and political crisis in France regarding the unjust tax policies, the lack of democracy and the abuse of power by the elites. Tens of thousands of people occupied the streets wearing yellow emergency vests while the demonstrations were held every Saturday for seven months and often resulted in violence (Chrisafis, 2018). The Yellow Vests uprising occurred amid a social and political crisis that has been intensifying over the last two decades.
What led to the uprising:
In the years leading up to the movement, France’s leaders and the two major parties that alternated in power failed to address the country’s mounting problems of slow growth, unemployment, bloated public sector, rising crime, massive immigration, the growing challenges associated with Muslim integration, and radical Islamist terrorism. When Macron was elected, he campaigned on tax and economic reforms, including a reassessment of the contentious wealth tax by levying taxes on real-estate assets. In order to stimulate constructive investments, he taxed capital gains at 30%. Furthermore, he rationalised the national railroad, standing hard against big unions while weakening them. As a result, modest retirees felt cheated by tax increases and rises in the cost of living in the sums they received.
The movement:
The ‘gilets jaunes’ movement gained sweeping popularity and international attention when a video circulated on the internet expressing anger towards the rising taxes and the rising price of diesel along with the traffic radars proliferating on French roads. The video gathered millions of views and more than 250,000 shares on Facebook while later on, a group called ‘La France en colère’ was created by Eric Drouet and gathered 200,000 members making it the most popular Yellow Vest Facebook group. Facebook played an important role in mobilising the movement by using its algorithm to create a ‘filter bubble’ within which people were bombed by content related to the ‘yellow vest movement’ (Dodman, 2019).
In other words, Facebook hindered the visibility of content published on pages run by large media outlets and prioritised content being shared by people’s friend lists and groups.
Symbolic Interactionism and the use of Symbols:
This series of events in France is a clear example of symbolic interactionism in play. People participating in activism, exchange meaning through language and symbols that shape their social world. Humans participating in the Yellow Vest movement interacted with each other based on the meaning ascribed to those acts. Carter and Fuller (2015) say that ‘Humans do not ponder on themselves and their relationships to others sometimes – they constantly are engaged in mindful action where they manipulate symbols and negotiate the meaning of situations.
A general agreement prevails within a society about the meanings associated with different words or symbols. Symbols are social ‘objects’ originating from the culture that have common meanings that are produced and preserved in social interaction and include the means by which reality is built, by language and communication. In the case of the yellow vest movement, the yellow vest was the symbol that was used to reach others in order to ‘convince them to join them.
The symbol is visible in all the pictures of the protesters, news coverages and social media – making the working-class and lower-middle-class people visible and symbol is widely associated with the working class and the construction industries and it was owned by French motorists since 2008 (Friedman, 2018). When the protests spread to other countries the ‘uniform’ remained the same, perhaps to appear in relation to the initial movement.
Right now, the biggest feminist movement is happening in Iran, as thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini.
If by now you don’t know, who Mahsa Amini was, Mahsa Amini was a young Kurdish woman who died in the custody of the “morality police” in Iran, for improperly wearing her hijab.
The protests may have started against the mandatory hijab law but it’s actually a protest against the whole regime.People in Iran aren’t protesting against Islam. They are protesting against their government and police brutality. They are protesting because their government is using religion as a means of oppression. They are protesting because women have had their choice taken away from them and they are being killed.
As protests Amini’s death gained momentum, Iranian officials repeatedly shut down mobile internet connections and disrupted the services of Instagram and WhatsApp. Cutting off access to WhatsApp and Instagram wipes off some of Iran’s last remaining social media platforms as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have been prohibited for years.
“It does seem they are targeting these platforms that are the lifeline for information and communication that’s keeping the protests alive,” says Mahsa Alimardani. Internet shutdowns are a major violation of international human rights standards. They make it difficult for people to share critical information quickly and easily, and for journalists to report on violent events. This tactic used by the Iranian government is quickly becoming a crucial tool for disconnecting people from one another and preventing them from scrutinising the acts of their government.
During nationwide protests in November 2019, Iran’s authorities cut Internet access for more than 80 million people. As the blockade continued, authorities attacked and killed hundreds of people. Since then, the Iranian government has continued to shut down the Internet whenever there is a protest. Iranians are increasingly anxious that the authorities will prevent people from accessing crucial information by cutting off their access to the global Internet.
People use social media to spread information about the protests and increase awareness. Before the shutdowns, videos circulated on the internet showing women burning their headscarves and cutting their hair while chanting for freedom. Following the deadly clashes with the authorities, more videos show individuals being attacked by police officers and even injured and dead bodies.
Not only is the strategy of “Internet shutdowns” a breach of human rights, but it is also an example of social behaviour monitoring; the National Information Network gives no guarantees concerning anonymity, privacy, or data security. Authorities, on the other hand, may filter or prohibit content based on political, cultural, or religious considerations. Throttling a URL to severely slow its function, barring specific internet addresses, and restricting the use of mobile data are the modern and digitalised weapons governments use against their people.
Protesters in Egypt. Source: Pinterest. Continue reading Social Media Apps: Powerful and consistently pertinent tools for the mobilisation of Social Movements in a digital era
