Internet activism[a] involves the use of electronic-communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular information to large and specific audiences, as well as coordination.[1][2] Internet technologies are used by activists for cause-related fundraising, community building, lobbying, and organizing. A digital-activism campaign is "an organized public effort, making collective claims on a target authority, in which civic initiators or supporters use digital media."[3] Research has started to address specifically how activist/advocacy groups in the U.S.[4] and in Canada[5] use social media to achieve digital-activism objectives.

Types

edit

Within online activism Sandor Vegh distinguished three principal categories: active/reactive, organization/mobilization, and awareness/advocacy based.[6] Active/reactive refers to either being proactive in efforts to bring about change or reacting to issues after they happen. Organization/mobilization refers to gathering people and information together for online or offline activism. Awareness/advocacy refers to sharing information to make others aware of an issue or advocating for issues and campaigns. There are other ways of classifying Internet activism, such as by the degree of reliance on the Internet versus offline mobilization. Thus, Internet sleuthing or hacking could be viewed as purely online forms of activism, whereas the Occupy Wall Street movement was mainly conducted offline, and only partially online.[7]

Development processes

edit

Exploring the dynamics of online activism for expressing resistance to a powerful organization, a study developed a critical mass approach to online activism.[8] The results were integrated in a four-year longitudinal process model that explains how online activism started, generated societal outcomes, and changed over time. The model suggests that online activism helped organize collective actions and amplify the conditions for revolutionary movements to form. Yet, it provoked elites' reactions such as Internet filtering and surveillance, which do not only promote self-censorship and generate digital divide, but contribute to the ultimate decline of activism over time. The process model suggests a complex interplay among stakeholders' interests, opportunities for activism, costs, and outcomes that are neither foreseen nor entirely predictable. The authors challenge universal access to the Internet as a convenient and cost-free forum for practicing social activism by organizational stakeholders (customers, employees, outside parties). In fact, the technology enablers of social activism also enable its filtering and repression, and thus, more extreme states of information asymmetry may result in which powerful elites preserve their status and impose a greater digital divide.[citation needed]

In one study, a discussion of a developmental model of political mobilization is discussed. By citizens joining groups and creating discussion, they are beginning their first stage of involvement. Progressively, it is hoped that they will begin signing petitions online and graduating to offline contact as long as the organization provides the citizen with escalating steps of involvement (Vitak et al., 2011).[9]

The issue of the mass media's centrality has been highly contested, with some people arguing that it promoted the voices of marginalized groups while others believe it sends forth the messages of the majority alone, leaving minority groups to have their voices robbed.[10]

Examples of early activism

edit

One early instance of online activism was opposition to the release of Lotus Marketplace.[11] On April 10, 1990, Lotus announced a direct-mail marketing database product that was to contain name, address, demographic, and spending habit information on 120 million individual U.S. citizens. While much of the same data was already available elsewhere, privacy advocates worried about the availability of this data collected within one easily searchable database. Furthermore, the data would be distributed on CD-ROM and could not be changed until a new edition was released.

In response, a mass e-mail and E-bulletin-board campaign was started, which included information on contacting Lotus and form letters. Larry Seiler, a New England–based computer professional, posted a message that was widely reposted on newsgroups and via e-mail: "It will contain a LOT of personal information about YOU, which anyone in the country can access by just buying the discs. It seems to me (and to a lot of other people, too) that this will be a little too much like big brother, and it seems like a good idea to get out while there is still time." Over 30,000 people contacted Lotus and asked for their names to be removed from the database. On January 23, 1991, Lotus announced that it had cancelled MarketPlace.[12]

In 1998 Dr. Daniel Mengara, a Gabonese scholar and activist living New Jersey, created a website called Bongo Doit Partir (Bongo Must Go) to encourage a revolution against the regime of Omar Bongo in Gabon. [13] In July 2003, Amnesty International reported the arrest of five Gabonese known to be members of Bongo Doit Partir. The members were detained for three months.[14][15]

Another well-known example of early Internet activism took place in 1998, when the Mexican rebel group EZLN used decentralized communications, such as cell phones, to network with developed world activists and help create the anti-globalization group Peoples Global Action (PGA) to protest the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.[16] The PGA continued to call for "global days of action" and rally support of other anti-globalization groups in this way.[17]

Later, a worldwide network of Internet activist sites, under the umbrella name of Indymedia, was created to provide coverage of the 1999 Seattle WTO protests.[18][19][20] Dorothy Kidd quotes Sheri Herndon in a July 2001 telephone interview about the role of the Internet in the anti-WTO protests: "The timing was right, there was a space, the platform was created, the Internet was being used, we could bypass the corporate media, we were using open publishing, we were using multimedia platforms. So those hadn't been available, and then there was the beginning of the anti-globalization movement in the United States."[21]

Kony 2012, a short film released on March 5, 2012,[22][23][24][25] was intended to promote the charity's "Stop Kony" movement to Ugandan militant Joseph Kony globally known the hopes of having him arrested by the campaign's scheduled expiration at the end of 2012[26] The film spread virally.[27][28][29] A poll suggested that more than half of young adult Americans heard about Kony 2012 in the days following the video's release.[30][31][32] It was included among the top international events of 2012 by PBS[33] and called the most viral video ever by TIME.[34]

Uses

edit

Internet activism has had the effect of causing increased collective action among people, as found by Postmes and Brunsting (2002), who discovered a tendency among internet users to rely on internalized group memberships and social identities in order to achieve social involvement online.[35] The Internet is "tailor-made for a populist, insurgent movement," says Joe Trippi,[36] who managed the Howard Dean campaign. In his campaign memoir, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Trippi notes that:

[The Internet's] roots in the open-source ARPAnet, its hacker culture, and its decentralized, scattered architecture make it difficult for big, establishment candidates, companies and media to gain control of it. And the establishment loathes what it can't control. This independence is by design, and the Internet community values above almost anything the distance it has from the slow, homogeneous stream of American commerce and culture. Progressive candidates and companies with forward-looking vision have an advantage on the Internet, too. Television is, by its nature, a nostalgic medium. Look at Ronald Reagan's campaign ads in the 1980s – they were masterpieces of nostalgia promising a return to America's past glory and prosperity. The Internet, on the other hand, is a forward-thinking and forward-moving medium, embracing change and pushing the envelope of technology and communication.

Spreading information

edit

The Internet is a key resource for independent activists, particularly those whose message may run counter to the mainstream.[37] Listservs like Freedom News Group or BurmaNet assist in spreading news that would otherwise be inaccessible in these countries.[38] Internet activists also organize petitions to be sent to the government as well as interest groups and organizations to protest or argue for change. Many non-profits and charities use these methods, emailing petitions to those on their email list and asking people to pass them on. The Internet also enables organizations such as NGOs to communicate with individuals in an inexpensive and timely manner. Indeed, many non-profit and advocacy organizations rely on the internet to launch campaigns with socially conscious messages to maintain a constant stream of revenue.[39]

Hashtag activism

edit

Hashtag activism is the use of hashtags for fighting or supporting a cause through the usage of social media outlets.[40][41] The term "hashtag activism" first started circulating within journalism in 2011.[42] Since then, its use has been associated with movements such as #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and many more.

One example of the powerful rise of hashtag activism can be seen in the black feminist movement's use of hashtags to convey their cause. The famous hashtag "IamJada" was an internet backlash to the mocking "#Jadapose" that went viral, ensuing after sixteen-year-old girl Jada Smith was photographed following her gang rape [43] In this instance, a hashtag was employed to convey a powerful anti-rape message.

Yet another instance of where this type of activism was utilized for the matter of feminism and women's right, occurred in China in relation to the outbreak of COVID-19. While the rule of the country put efforts into trying to hide and downplay the start of what would develop into the pandemic, pressured hospitals were in need of supplies in form of menstrual protection and related products. Supplies which they, despite the fact that the vast majority of the medical workers is made up of females, were not given access to.[44] Amongst others, hashtags such as #RefusePeriodShame, circulated in protest to the ongoing situation and the Wuhan hospital authorities, who were considered responsible for it. Soon to follow on the same thread, one of the VTubers of the Chinese Communist Youth Party League (CYL), known as Jiangshanjiao, an avatar displayed as a youthful female, gave rise to #JiangshanjiaoDoYouGetYourPeriod. The hashtag initially sparked from a post on Weibo where a user sarcastically wrote that exact question, to point out the absurdness in the societal denial of women's biological functions and needs. #JiangshanjiaoDoYouGetYourPeriod, while, like the previous hashtag mentioned, being censored and taken down by the government, had time to spread and catch a lot more attention than what #RefusePeriodShame did, and up until 15 March 2020, it accumulated over 89,200,000 views.[44]

Other notable instances in which marginalized groups have used hashtags as organizing tools for social justice include responses to racial violence and police profiling, as in the case of #BlackLivesMatter and #JusticeForTrayvon, along with misogyny and gendered violence, such as #MeToo and #YesAllWomen.[45]

Black Lives Matter

edit
 

One of the most prominent uses of hashtag activism is #BlackLivesMatter, a social justice movement that first began after George Zimmerman was acquitted for the shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin, an African American teenage boy. The movement started as a hashtag and now it has been at the forefront of the fight against police brutality and racial profiling across the world.

After the killing of Martin on February 26, 2012, several people wanted justice. The hashtag started to grow in popularity, with a Change.org petition calling for an investigation and prosecution of George Zimmerman.[42] Social media users, including many celebrities retweeted, shared, and created new petitions, eventually raising over 2.1 million signatures combined by March 26, 2012. By April 11, 2012, Zimmerman was charged with the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin.[42]

After George Zimmerman was acquitted on July 13, 2013, a "letter to Black folks" was posted to Facebook by Alicia Garza. Garza ended her letter with the statement "Black lives matter", which her friend turned into a hashtag below.[46] From here, #BlackLivesMatter or simply "BLM" became the movement against police brutality and killings of unarmed African Americans, as well as hate crimes and racially motivated crimes.[47]

#BlackLivesMatter's impact does not end online. The formation of Black Lives Matter allowed for activists across the United States to organize in-person protests and rallies together, no matter where they may be located.[48] U.S. politicians—such as Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—have endorsed Black Lives Matter, aligning themselves with a push for racial justice.

The most recent display of how the Black Lives Matter movement has been used as a platform for offline activism is the 2020 BLM protests that occurred after 17-year old Darnella Frazier live-streamed on Facebook the murder of George Floyd by then-police officer Derek Chauvin. Protests took place in all 50 states, as well as in many countries around the world.[49]

March For Our Lives

edit

After the Parkland high school shooting on February 14, 2018, #MarchForOurLives was born. Students came together to create this hashtag to fight for gun control in the U.S. This hashtag turned into an entire movement of over 800 protests across the United States with the main protest taking place in Washington, D.C.[50] There was an estimated 200,000 people in attendance at the Washington, D.C. protest, alone.[51]

TikTok

edit

TikTok's platform has been increasingly used for raising up social issues through creative short videos, especially after an allegedly make-up tutorial turned into a call to action on China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs.[52] The tutorial was banned for 50 minutes on November 26, 2019. Eric Han, the heads of TikTok's US content-moderation team, claimed the banning was due to a “human moderation error”. The Chinese owners declared the app does not remove content based on sensitivities to China.[53] TikTok also partnered up with UN Women in a campaign fighting women violence in India which kicked off on November 25, 2019. The campaign can be found under the hashtag #KaunsiBadiBaatHai and features short videos with positive and negative examples of men interacting with women.[54]

In July 2020, the TikTok platform played a major role in the #FreeBritney movement surrounding Britney Spears and her conservatorship dispute. Though such activism led to a significant increase in public awareness of the case, it was criticized for spreading misinformation regarding the conservatorship alongside a number of conspiracy theories of varying accuracy.[55]

Use in political campaigns

edit

2004 Presidential Campaign

edit

When discussing the 2004 U.S. presidential election candidates, Carol Darr, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said of the candidates which benefited from use of the Internet to attract supporters: "They are all charismatic, outspoken mavericks and insurgents. Given that the Internet is interactive and requires an affirmative action on the part of the users, as opposed to a passive response from TV users, it is not surprising that the candidate has to be someone people want to touch and interact with."[56]

A more decentralized approach to campaigning arose, in contrast to a top-down, message-focused approach usually conducted in the mainstream. "The mantra has always been, 'Keep your message consistent. Keep your message consistent,'" said John Hlinko, who has participated in Internet campaigns for MoveOn.org and the electoral primary campaign of Wesley Clark. "That was all well and good in the past. Now it's a recipe for disaster. You can choose to have a Stalinist structure that's really doctrinaire and that's really opposed to grassroots. Or you can say, 'Go forth. Do what you're going to do.' As long as we're running in the same direction, it's much better to give some freedom."[57]

2008 Presidential Campaign

edit
 
Professor Burdett Loomis from the University of Kansas spoke at @america via DVC on Tuesday, September 25, in front of a crowd of university students majoring in communications and connected to five American Corners via Webchat. Professor Loomis traced the evolution of the use of media as a political tool during elections and questioned the actual influence of media on voters.

Two-thirds of Internet users under the age of 30 have an SNS, and during the 2008 election, half of them used an SNS site for candidate information (Hirzalla, 2010).[58] MoveOn.org endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, and used this endorsement as an opportunity to encourage grassroots advertising. MoveOn hosted a competition that requested submissions from ordinary citizens with the criteria the digital ads were positive towards Obama. The contest drew 1,000 entries of 30-second ads for Obama that streamed on YouTube.[59] This endorsement by a grassroots organization, and the ensuing contest, is an example of agenda setting that scholars have been studying ever since social media and digital content began influencing presidential politics.[59]

Studies delving into the 2008 presidential campaign examined inequality online of various ideologies deriving from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Scholars concluded the 2008 race, and the influence of online politicking, did not see an empowerment of new voices.[60] The idea that digital literacy become a concept taught in school, with educators incorporating blogging, commenting, and creating content as part of their curriculum, has been bandied about among social and political scientists in an effort to turn online enthusiasm from young people into demonstrable results at the ballot box.[61]

2016 Presidential Campaign

edit

The 2016 presidential election changed the digital landscape again. Digital media scholars note that the hopes of developing digital literacy post 2008 turned into a fomenting distrust of traditional news media. People of all ages and political inclinations gravitated towards social media sources that acted as echo chambers, and online personalities and organizations were held in higher esteem than traditional news sources.[62]

Non-traditional activism

edit

The Internet has become the catalyst for protests such as Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring as those involved have increasingly relied on social media to organize and stay connected. In Myanmar, online news paper Freedom News Group has leaked some government corruption and fuel to protests.[63][64]

In 2017, the Sleeping Giants cyberactivist group, among others, launched a boycott campaign against controversial, conservative webpage Breitbart News, getting more than 2,000 organizations to remove it from ad buys.[65][66][67][68][69][70]

Corporate activism

edit

Corporations are also using Internet activist techniques to increase support for their causes. According to Christopher Palmeri with BusinessWeek Online, companies launch sites with the intent to positively influence their own public image, to provide negative pressure on competitors, to influence opinion within select groups, and to push for policy changes.[71]

The clothing manufacturer, American Apparel is an example: The company hosts a website called Legalize LA that advocates immigration reform via blog, online advertising, links to news stories and educational materials.[72][73] Protest groups have responded by posting YouTube videos and establishing a boycott website.[74][75]

Corporate methods of information dissemination is labelled "astroturfing", as opposed to "grassroots activism", due to the funding for such movements being largely private.[76] More recent examples include the right-wing FreedomWorks.org which organized the "Taxpayer March on Washington" on September 12, 2009, and the Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights, which opposes universal health care in the U.S.[77]

Religious activism

edit

Cybersectarianism is a new organizational form which involves: "highly dispersed small groups of practitioners that may remain largely anonymous within the larger social context and operate in relative secrecy, while still linked remotely to a larger network of believers who share a set of practices and texts, and often a common devotion to a particular leader. Overseas supporters provide funding and support; domestic practitioners distribute tracts, participate in acts of resistance, and share information on the internal situation with outsiders. Collectively, members and practitioners of such sects construct viable virtual communities of faith, exchanging personal testimonies and engaging in collective study via email, on-line chat rooms and web-based message boards."[78]

Political activism

edit

Online extremism

edit

The Internet is widely accessible by everyone. Thus, it has, since its beginning, increasingly become a place where various opinions are expressed, and not seldom are those opinions ones from some very far end of the spectrum. Extremists of different sorts have come to heavily rely on the Internet to the point where it is no longer just a means amongst others to achieve a certain objective, but more often than not, it is where the main part of a movement takes place.[79] Activities such as the conveyance of perceivably extreme, bureaucratic ideas, or even the outlining of strategic acts of violence or destruction, are ones nowadays likely to occur online. In other words, this type of "online extremism" could, though difficult to precisely define, be described as the subcategory of Internet activism that is brought forward by, or connected with, individuals or groups that possess what are generally viewed to be extreme opinions.[79]

White Nationalism

edit

In 1998, former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke wrote on his website, “I believe that the internet will begin a chain reaction of racial enlightenment that will shake the world by the speed of its intellectual conquest.”[80] White nationalists quickly saw the potential of the Internet as a platform to effectively disseminate their message to a mass audience.

This exploitation of technological innovations is not a novel concept for this group. In the early 20th century, with the emergence of film technology, the KKK created their own film companies and produced films like The Toll of Justice (1923) to spread their message.[81] Then, a century later, with the rise of digital technologies, the KKK adapted to the changing media landscape to become a digital movement. They not only adapted to the digital age, but also found vulnerabilities through which they could most quickly and efficiently insert their ideologies.[82] Examples of this included strategic domain names and hidden propaganda content.

Today, white nationalists' efforts to push their principles on the Web combined with tech companies' belief in the Internet as "raceless" motivate white nationalists to continue to exploit algorithms and influence digital spaces such as Twitter.[83] As algorithms work in a self-reinforcing manner, they worsen the psychological effects of confirmation bias. They provide search results that confirm one's beliefs and biases and, further, connect one to communities of like-minded people. This works in favor of white nationalists; for example, search engines' autocomplete features suggest racist notions, and make White supremacist sites readily accessible to users.[84]

Environmental activism

edit

One of the earliest books on activism was Don Rittner's Ecolinking: Everyone's Guide to Online Environmental Information, published by Peachpit Press in 1992. Rittner, an environmental activist from upstate New York, spent more than 20 years researching and saving the Albany Pine Barrens. He was a beta tester for America Online and ran their Environmental Forum for the company from 1988 to when it launched in 1990. He took his early environmental knowledge and computer savvy and wrote what was called the bible of the online environmental community. It showed new Net users how to get online, find environmental information, connect to environmentalists around the world, and how to use those resources to save the planet.[85]

In August 2018, a movement of environmental activism was initiated in Sweden, by now widely known climate activist Greta Thunberg. It all started with Greta, 15 years of age at the time and influenced by the creation of #MarchForOurLives, giving her opinion on the ongoing climate change, by displaying a large sign in front of the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) in protest.[86] This act would start the "School Strike for Climate" (SSC) (Swedish: Skolstrejk för klimatet), a movement that would eventually spread, largely through attention in media, across the globe and develop into something that came to be internationally named "Fridays for Future" (FFF). Through having children miss classes on Fridays to participate in the strike, it has from the moment it started until today, reached and affected leading governments of the world by raising environmental awareness.[86]

In 2020 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the National Trust began the #BlossomWatch campaign, which encouraged people to share the first signs of Spring with one another, in particular images of blossom.[87]

Sexual assault activism

edit

Activism against sexual assault is often led on the internet, where individuals may feel comfortable talking about uncomfortable topics. One such movements is the #NotGuilty movement. This movement began in April 2015 when Ione Wells, an Oxford University student shared a "letter to her attacker" in her college paper.[88] The letter described how she was sexually assaulted and how she chose to respond and build from that point in her life. At the end of the letter she urged readers to send a letter back describing their own sexual assault experience with the hashtag #notguilty. She received so many letters from locals that she decided to create a website called "notGuiltyCampaign.co.uk". This caused global attention and inspired many to share their stories.[89]

The Me Too movement is a similar movement that started in Hollywood. Initially, the activist Tarana Burke created the phrase back in 2006 to "empower women through empathy", but first over a decade later, the actress Alyssa Milano gave birth to the usage of the saying that would lead to the eventual spread of it, after using it in a post on Twitter, in which she acknowledged several accusations of sexual assault against film producer Harvey Weinstein.[90] It would from there on not be long until it stretched and attached on various online platforms, and in no more than a day after Milano's tweet, the #MeToo hashtag had been reused over 500,000 times on that same media, as well as 4.7 million times on Facebook. The phrase was first used to demonstrate the amount of sexual assault that happens to young actresses and actors in Hollywood, and it was largely due to the early involvement of several well known individuals from the entertainment industry, who used the hashtag in their own posts, that the movement achieved the spread that it did.[90] It soon expanded to apply to all forms of sexual assault, especially in the work place, and with time it also came to move from concerning mainly white heterosexual women, to eventually being used by both men and women with different sexualities and ethnicity.

These movements were intended to create an outlet for men and women to share their experiences with those with similar views without blame or guilt. They brought widespread attention to sexual assault and caused much controversy about changes that should be made accordingly.[91] Criticism around movements such as these centers on concerns about whether or not participants are being dishonest for their own gain or are misinterpreting acts of kindness.[92] However, the same Me Too movement, which also reached Egypt showed the adverse side of the activism where witness detention in one of the high-profile rape cases highlighted the prioritisation of traditional social morality by the government over women's rights in the country.[93]

Hacktivism

edit

Denial-of-Service attacks, the taking over and vandalizing of a website, uploading Trojan horses, and sending out e-mail bombs (mass e-mailings) are also examples of Internet activism. While the concept is difficult to exactly pinpoint, the phrase "hacktivism" summarizes the act of somehow utilizing hacking capabilities as a means to achieve some type of political goal, and the expression is occasionally also referred to as a variation of "cyberterrorism".[94] The varieties of different routes groups of hacktivists choose to approach the organization, website or forum that they are taking on, can be categorized into different tactics. Some examples of those tactics or strategies are "DDoS attacks", "Doxing", and "Webdefacement", all of which are slightly different ways of reaching an often similar end goal.[94] For additional understanding and explanation, as well as for more specific examples of these types of subversive actions, see hacktivism.[95]

Impact on everyday political discussions

edit

According to some observers, the Internet may have considerable potential to reach and engage opinion leaders who influence the thinking and behavior of others. According to the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet, what they call "Online Political Citizens" (OPCs) are "seven times more likely than average citizens to serve as opinion leaders among their friends, relatives and colleagues… Normally, 10% of Americans qualify as Influentials. Our study found that 69% of Online Political Citizens are Influentials."[96]

Information communication technologies

edit

Information communication technologies (ICTs) make communication and information readily available and efficient. There are millions of Facebook accounts, Twitter users and websites, and one can educate oneself on nearly any subject. While this is for the most part a positive thing, it can also be dangerous. For example, people can read up on the latest news events relatively easily and quickly; however, there is danger in the fact that apathy or fatigue can quickly arise when people are inundated with so many messages, or that the loudest voice on a subject can often be the most extreme one, distorting public perception on the issue.

These social networks which occupy ICTs are simply modern forms of political instruments which pre-date the technological era.[97] People can now go to online forums or Twitter instead of town hall meetings. People can essentially mobilize worldwide through the Internet. Women can create transnational alliances and lobby for rights within their respective countries; they can give each other tips and share up-to-date information. This information becomes "hyper textual", available in downloadable formats with easy access for all.[97] The UN organizations also use "hyper textual" formats. They can post information about upcoming summits, they can post newsletters on what occurred at these meetings, and links to videos can be shared; all of this information can be downloaded at the click of a button.[97] The UN and many other actors are presenting this information in an attempt to get a certain message out in the cyber sphere and consequently steer public perception on an issue.[98]

With all this information so readily available, there is a rising trend of "slacktivism" or "clicktivism". While it is positive that information can be distributed so quickly and efficiently all around the world, there is negativity in the fact that people often take this information for granted, or quickly forget about it once they have seen it flash across our computer screens.[97] Viral campaigns are great for sparking initial interest and conversation, but they are not as effective in the long term—people begin to think that clicking "like" on something is enough of a contribution, or that posting information about a current hot topic on their Facebook page or Twitter feed means that they have made a difference.

Fundraising capability

edit

The Internet has also made it easier for small donors to play a meaningful role in financing political campaigns.[99] Previously, small-donor fundraising was prohibitively expensive, as costs of printing and postage ate up most of the money raised.[100] Groups like MoveOn, however, have found that they can raise large amounts of money from small donors at minimal cost, with credit card transaction fees constituting their biggest expense. "For the first time, you have a door into the political process that isn't marked 'big money,' " says Darr. "That changes everything."

The Internet also allows ordinary people to contribute materially to Humanitarian relief projects designed to intervene in situations of global disaster or tragedy, as in the case of the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon event, which was launched three days after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. The telethon and its broadcast became an effective vehicle to present a plea for support and to collect contributions quickly, facilitating a relationship between entertainment and humanitarian fundraising that has developed in response to historical and economic market conditions.[101][102]

Ethics

edit

With internet technology vastly changing existing and introducing new mechanisms by which to attain, share and employ information, internet activism raises ethical issues for consideration. Proponents contend internet activism serves as an outlet for social progress but only if personal and professional ethics are employed.[103] Supporters of online activism claim new information and communications technologies help increase the political power of activist groups that would otherwise have less resources. Proponents along this line of thinking claim the most effective use of online activism is its use in conjunction with more traditional or historical activism activities.[104] Conversely, critics worry about facts and beliefs becoming indistinct in online campaigns and about "sectors of online activism [being] more self-interested than socially interested."[103] These critics warn against the manipulation commonplace to online activism for private or personal interests such as exploiting charities for monetary gain, influencing voters in the political arena and inflating self-importance or effectiveness. In this sense, the ethical implication is that activism becomes descriptive rather than transformative of society.[103] One of these reviewers suggests seven pitfalls to beware of in internet activism: "self-promotion at the expense of the movement... unsolicited bulk email... Hacktivism... violating copyright... nagging... violating privacy... and being scary."[105] Many of the ethical criticisms against the prevalence of online activism are further discussed in the criticisms section of this article.

Criticism

edit

Demographic issues

edit

Critics argue that Internet activism faces the same challenges as other aspects of the digital divide, particularly the global digital divide. Some say it gives disproportionate representation to those with greater access or technological ability.[106][107] Groups that may be disadvantaged by the move to activist activity online are those that have limited access to technologies, or lack the technological literacy to engage meaningfully online; these include ethnic and racial minorities, those of lower socioeconomic status, those with lower levels of education, and the elderly. Issues like racism and sexism are issues that internet activists reportedly deal with.[108]

A study looked at the impact of Social Networking Sites (SNS) on various demographics and their political activity. Not surprisingly college students used SNS for political activity the most but this was followed by a more unlikely group, those that had not completed high school. In addition the probability for non-White citizens to consume political information was shown to be higher than that of Whites. These two outcomes go in the face of normal predictors of political activity. Despite these surprising findings older generations, men and whites showed the highest levels of political mobilization. Acts of political mobilization, such as fundraising, volunteering, protesting require the most continued interest, resources and knowledge (Nam, 2010).[109]

Polarization

edit

One concern raised by University of California, Santa Cruz professor Barbara Epstein, is that the Internet "allows people who agree with each other to talk to each other and gives them the impression of being part of a much larger network than is necessarily the case." She warns that the impersonal nature of communication by computer may actually undermine the human contact that always has been crucial to social movements.[110]

On the other hand, Scott Duke Harris of the San Jose Mercury News noted that "the Internet connects [all sides of issues, not just] an ideologically broad anti-war constituency, from the leftists of ANSWER to the pressed-for-time 'soccer moms' who might prefer MoveOn, and conservative activists as well."[111]

Slacktivism

edit
 

Activist Ralph Nader has stated that "the Internet doesn't do a very good job of motivating action", citing that the United States Congress, corporations and the Pentagon do not necessarily "fear the civic use of the Internet."[112] Ethan Zuckerman talks about slacktivism, claiming that the Internet has devalued certain currencies of activism.[113] Citizens may "like" an activist group on Facebook, visit a website, or comment on a blog, but fail to engage in political activism beyond the Internet, such as volunteering or canvassing. This critique has been criticized as Western-centric, however, because it discounts the impact this can have in authoritarian or repressive contexts.[114] Journalist Courtney C. Radsch argued that even this low level of engagement was an important form of activism for Arab youth because it is a form of free speech, and can spark mainstream media coverage.[115] University of North Carolina professor Zeynep Tufekci has argued that the need to put in significant organizing time in the pre-Internet era is what gave street protests their strength.[116] Max Halupka, of the Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, likens slacktivism to "an impulsive and non-committal online political response."[117]

Scholars are divided about whether the Internet will increase or decrease political participation, including slacktivism.[118] Those who suggest political participation will increase believe the Internet can be used to recruit and communicate with more users, and offers lower-costs modes of participation for those who lack the time or motivation to engage otherwise. Those concerned that the Internet will decrease activism argue that the Internet occupies free time that can no longer be spent getting involved in activist groups, or that Internet activism will replace more substantial, effortful forms of in-person activism. The Pew Research Center has found that platforms create distraction resulting in consumers and online activists believe they are making a difference while their sharing their post is only furthering the echo chamber of media.[119]  The Pew Research Center has also found that about 79% of adults believe that "slacktivism" distracts consumers from issues that are truly important[119] and that the majority of adults found that social media resulted in some of form of negative result.[118]

Journalist and writer Malcolm Gladwell argues that activism through social media and the internet cannot be successful because they promote a 'lazy' way of activism that doesn't require people to put in meaningful effort. For example 'liking' a protest related post on social media, people feel like they have contributed to a cause, which makes them less likely to take more costly, and some would argue more effective, action like joining a protest.[120][121]

With cases such as the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, it shows how internet activism can become more than slacktivism. Scholars have found that internet activist communities and offline activist communities work closely together, rather than being two separate entities.[122] With internet activism, activists can organize without the constraints of physical location. The Pew Research Center has found that eight-in-ten Americans have been proven effecting in spreading information and awareness for varying public issues.[118]

Whether this is due to physical, mental, or financial constraints, internet activism may be the most accessible and comfortable for disabled people. If able to attend a physical protest, the inaccessibility of public spaces is often too large of a roadblock to participation.[123]

Performative activism

edit

Similar to slacktivism, performative activism refers to the action of acting as if one is an advocate or activist – often on social media – for personal gain. This term is used as a negative term towards those who seem to be untruthful or exaggerating their activism work. Performative activism became frequently used after the 2020 BLM protests, this term started to become widely used as many took to social media to participate in the Black Lives Matter movement. The intentions of a lot of new activists and allies were questioned. On June 2, 2021, the social media platform, Instagram, was flooded with millions of the same image.[124] These images were black squares under the hashtag, #BlackoutTuesday. The purpose of this online protest was to amplify Black voices on social media. However, many criticized this protest, arguing that the protest had the opposite effect as the squares flooded the important #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.[125] People started to accuse those who participated in Blackout Tuesday, but did not do anything else in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement, of being performative activists.

State repression

edit

In Net Delusion, author Evgeny Morozov argues against cyberutopianism. He describes how the Internet is successfully used against activists and for the sake of state repression.[126] China presents a good example of this. Internet censorship in China has often been used as a way to achieve political stability of the Chinese Communist Party.[127] The most well known example of internet censorship in China is the Covid-19 virus when China suppressed any information regarding the virus. Information was able to get out though because of Dr. Li Wenliang, but was considered to be falsified.[128]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Also known as web activism, online activism, digital campaigning, digital activism, online organizing, electronic advocacy, e-campaigning, and e-activism.

References

edit
  1. ^ Dun, Antje (2024-01-10). "Digital Campaigning: Start Here". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ^ Howey, Ned; Tectonica; Paszewska, Weronika (2024-03-18). "Movements, Organising and Transformational Politics in the Digital Age". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  3. ^ "Edwards, Frank, Philip N. Howard, and Mary Joyce. Digital Activism and Nonviolent Conflict. The Digital Activism Research Project". digital-activism.org. November 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  4. ^ Obar, Jonathan; et al. (2012). "Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action". Journal of Information Policy. 2: 1–25. doi:10.5325/jinfopoli.2.2012.0001. SSRN 1956352.
  5. ^ Obar, Jonathan (2014). "Canadian Advocacy 2.0: A Study of Social Media Use by Social Movement Groups and Activists in Canada". Canadian Journal of Communication. 39 (2). doi:10.22230/cjc.2014v39n2a2678. SSRN 2254742.
  6. ^ McCaughey, Martha; Ayers, Michael D. (1 January 2003). Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415943208. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2020 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Schwartz, Mattathias (2014-02-09). "Kalle Lasn and Micah White, the Creators of Occupy Wall Street : The New Yorker". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2024-04-14.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ Ghobadi, S., Clegg, S. (2015). "'these days will never be forgotten': Critical Mass Approach to Online Activism". Information and Organization. 25. Elsevier: 52–71. doi:10.1016/j.infoandorg.2014.12.002.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Vitak, J., Zube, P., Smock, A., Carr, C. T., Ellison, N., & Lampe, C. (2011). It's Complicated: Facebook Users' Political Participation in the 2008 Election. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 14(3), 107-114.
  10. ^ "Apparently They Don't Like Succinct and Articulate': Journalists, Activists, and the Battle over News". Soundbitten: The Perils of Media-Centered Political Activism. 1.
  11. ^ pupeno. "CPSR - document_view". cpsr.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  12. ^ Gurak, L.J. (1997). Persuasion and Privacy in Cyberspace: The Online Protests over Lotus MarketPlace and the Clipper Chip. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  13. ^ "Bongo Doit Partir | Pour la Construction d'un Gabon nouveau". Archived from the original on 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  14. ^ "Document". www.amnesty.org. 12 August 2003.
  15. ^ "Document". www.amnesty.org. 15 October 2003.
  16. ^ "A world of many worlds". Iran-bulletin.org. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  17. ^ "www.agp.org – Brief history of PGA". Nadir.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  18. ^ "Independent Media Center". Indymedia.org. Archived from the original on 2011-02-24. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  19. ^ "Media Activism, Indymedia History, Mar. 11, 2005". Indybay.org. 2005-03-11. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  20. ^ Smith, Jackie (2001). "Globalizing Resistance: The Battle of Seattle and the Future of Social Movements" (PDF). Mobilization. 6 (1): 1–20. doi:10.17813/maiq.6.1.y63133434t8vq608. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  21. ^ "Indymedia.org: A New Communications Common in Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice pp. 59. Eds. Ayers, Michael D., Mccaughey, Martha. Copyright 2003, Routledge, New York, NY
  22. ^ "News Hour – Trending Now: Kony 2012". Global TV. March 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  23. ^ Lees, Philippa; Zavan, Martin (March 7, 2012). "Kony 2012 sheds light on Uganda conflict". Ninemsn. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  24. ^ "Jackson Center To Show KONY2012". The Post-Journal. February 14, 2012. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  25. ^ "Uganda rebel Joseph Kony target of viral campaign video". BBC News. March 8, 2012. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  26. ^ Myers, Julia (March 7, 2012). "A call for justice". Kentucky Kernel. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.
  27. ^ Neylon, Stephanie (March 7, 2012). "Kony fever hits York!". The Yorker. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  28. ^ Molloy, Mark (March 7, 2012). "Kony 2012: Campaign Shedding light on Uganda Conflict a Huge Online Success". Metro. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  29. ^ Nelson, Sara C. (March 7, 2012). "Kony 2012: Invisible Children Documentary Sheds Light On Uganda Conflict". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  30. ^ Rainie, Lee; Hitlin, Paul; Jurkowitz, Mark; Dimock, Michael; Neidorf, Shawn (15 March 2012). "The Viral Kony 2012 Video". Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  31. ^ Kanczula, Antonia (April 20, 2012). "Kony 2012 in numbers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  32. ^ Polly Curtis; Tom McCarthy (April 20, 2012). "Kony 2012: what happens next?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  33. ^ "Memorable World Moments of 2012 | PBS NewsHour | Dec. 24, 2012". PBS. December 24, 2012. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  34. ^ Carbone, Nick (December 4, 2012). "Kony 2012 | Arts & Entertainment | TIME.com". Entertainment.time.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  35. ^ "Towards cyberactivism 2.0? Understanding the use of social media and other information technologies for political activism and social movements".
  36. ^ "Citizen 2.0: How the Internet Shapes Citizen Participation". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-04.
  37. ^ "Classifying Forms of Online Activism: The Case of Cyberprotests Against the World Bank" in Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and PRACTICE, Eds. Ayers, Michael D., Mccaughey, Martha, pp. 72-73. Copyright 2003, Routledge, New York, NY
  38. ^ Dariusz Jemielniak; Aleksandra Przegalinska (18 February 2020). Collaborative Society. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-35645-9. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  39. ^ Tatarchevskiy, Tatiana (2011-03-01). "The 'popular' culture of internet activism". New Media & Society. 13 (2): 297–313. doi:10.1177/1461444810372785. ISSN 1461-4448. S2CID 206726985.
  40. ^ "What is Hashtag Activism? - Definition from Techopedia". Techopedia.com. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  41. ^ Mobilisation Lab; Collinson, Rachel; Frauzel, Tracy (2021-01-29). "10 Ways People Power Can Change the World". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  42. ^ a b c Jackson, Sarah J.; Bailey, Moya; Foucault Welles, Brooke (2020-03-10). #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice. doi:10.7551/mitpress/10858.001.0001. ISBN 9780262356503. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  43. ^ "Digital Defense: Black Feminists Resist Violence With Hashtag Activism". Feminist Media Studies. 15.
  44. ^ a b Yang, Yue (2021-06-03). "When positive energy meets satirical feminist backfire: Hashtag activism during the COVID-19 outbreak in China". Global Media and China. 7: 99–119. doi:10.1177/20594364211021316. ISSN 2059-4364. S2CID 236269704.
  45. ^ Jackson, Sarah, J.; Bailey, Moya; Welles, Brooke Foucault (2020). #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 1–10, 123–133. ISBN 9780262043373.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ Ince, Jelani; Rojas, Fabio; Davis, Clayton A. (2017-09-02). "The social media response to Black Lives Matter: how Twitter users interact with Black Lives Matter through hashtag use". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 40 (11): 1814–1830. doi:10.1080/01419870.2017.1334931. ISSN 0141-9870. S2CID 149165778. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  47. ^ Asmelash, Leah (2020-07-26). "How Black Lives Matter went from a hashtag to a global rallying cry". CNN. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  48. ^ Duvall, Spring-Serenity; Heckemeyer, Nicole (2018-07-03). "#BlackLivesMatter: black celebrity hashtag activism and the discursive formation of a social movement". Celebrity Studies. 9 (3): 391–408. doi:10.1080/19392397.2018.1440247. ISSN 1939-2397. S2CID 148920621. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  49. ^ Burch, Audra D. S.; Cai, Weiyi; Gianordoli, Gabriel; McCarthy, Morrigan; Patel, Jugal K. (2020-06-13). "How Black Lives Matter Reached Every Corner of America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  50. ^ Wilson, Hayley (2019). "March for Archives: An Examination of Five Different Institutions and Their Collecting Efforts of Material from the March for Our Lives protests". cdr.lib.unc.edu. doi:10.17615/0az6-bd10. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  51. ^ "How many people attended March for Our Lives? Crowd in D.C. estimated at 200,000". www.cbsnews.com. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  52. ^ "TikTok 'makeup tutorial' goes viral with call to action on China's treatment of Uighurs". The Guardian. 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  53. ^ "TikTok apologises for deleting Feroza Aziz's video on plight of Muslim Uyghurs in China". ABC News. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  54. ^ "TikTok teams up with UN Women to raise awareness about violence against women in India". South China Morning Post. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  55. ^ "Why Britney Spears' Recent TikToks Have Left Many People Concerned For Her Health". Junkee. 2020-07-08. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  56. ^ "Website Reels In Political Newbies" Archived 2003-10-05 at archive.today Hanstad, Chelsie Salisbury, Bill Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MO accessed February 12, 2008
  57. ^ [1] Archived 2004-09-24 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
  58. ^ Hirzalla, F., van Zoonen, L., & de Ridder, J. (2011). Internet Use and Political Participation: Reflections on the Mobilization/Normalization Controversy. Information Society, 27(1), 1-15.
  59. ^ a b Ragas, Matthew W.; Kiousis, Spiro (2010-10-29). "Intermedia Agenda-Setting and Political Activism: MoveOn.org and the 2008 Presidential Election". Mass Communication and Society. 13 (5): 560–583. doi:10.1080/15205436.2010.515372. ISSN 1520-5436. S2CID 144596666.
  60. ^ Nam, Taewoo (2011-08-02). "Whose e-democracy? The democratic divide in American electoral campaigns". Information Polity. 16 (2): 131–150. doi:10.3233/ip-2011-0220. ISSN 1875-8754. Archived from the original on 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  61. ^ Kahne, Joseph; Middaugh, Ellen (November 2012). "Digital Media Shapes Youth Participation in Politics". Phi Delta Kappan. 94 (3): 52–56. doi:10.1177/003172171209400312. ISSN 0031-7217. S2CID 144355309.
  62. ^ Lavi, Liron (April 2020). "Time and Meaning-Making in the "Hybrid" Media: Evidence From the 2016 U.S. Election". Journal of Communication. 70 (2): 195–218. doi:10.1093/joc/jqaa003. ISSN 0021-9916.
  63. ^ Kleinfield, N. R.; Buckley, Cara (September 30, 2011). "Wall Street Occupiers, Protesting Till Whenever". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  64. ^ The Role of the Internet in Democratic Transition: Case Study of the Arab Spring Archived 2012-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, Davit Chokoshvili, Master's Thesis, June 2011
  65. ^ "Activists Are Pushing Back Against Tech Platforms That Quietly Empower Hate Groups". Fast Company. 2017-05-09. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  66. ^ Kerr, Dara. "Lyft, HP won't advertise on Breitbart. Uber, Amazon remain". CNET. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  67. ^ Kennedy, Pagan (January 7, 2017). "How to Destroy the Business Model of Breitbart and Fake News". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  68. ^ Henley, Jon; Oltermann, Philip (December 8, 2016). "German firms including BMW pull advertising from Breitbart". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  69. ^ "Coalition Gather More Than One Million Petition Signatures Urging Amazon To Drop Breitbart". 2017-05-08. Archived from the original on 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  70. ^ Garcia, Raphael Tsavkko. "Anonymous Twitter accounts in Brazil are pressuring advertisers to drop conservative media campaigns". Insider. Archived from the original on 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  71. ^ Christopher Palmeri, Up Front: How To Make A Corporate Cause Click Archived 2007-11-13 at the Wayback Machine, BusinessWeek Online, January 12, 2004. retrieved October 31, 2007.
  72. ^ "Legalize LA subpage". Americanapparel.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  73. ^ Story, Louise (January 18, 2008). "Politics Wrapped in a Clothing Ad". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  74. ^ YouTube: Save Our State vs. American Apparel Archived 2019-08-14 at the Wayback Machine "5 patriots from the organization Save Our State protest American Apparel and its "Legalize LA" campaign (amnesty for illegal aliens)."
  75. ^ "Boycott American Apparel.com". Boycott American Apparel.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  76. ^ Anderson, Walter T. "Astroturf – The Big Business of Fake Grassroots Politics." Archived 2011-01-29 at the Wayback Machine Jinn 5 January 1996 accessed Feb 12, 2008
  77. ^ "IIS7". Protectpatientsrights.org. Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  78. ^ Patricia M. Thornton, "The New Cybersects: Resistance and Repression in the Reform era. " In Elizabeth Perry and Mark Selden, eds., Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance (second edition) (London and New York: Routledge, 2003), pp. 149-50.
  79. ^ a b Winter, Charlie 1; Neumann, Peter 1; Meleagrou-Hitchens, Alexander 2; Ranstorp, Magnus 3; Vidino, Lorenzo 2; Fürst, Johanna1 International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College London 2 Program on Extremism (2020). "Online Extremism: Research Trends in Internet Activism, Radicalization, and Counter-Strategies". International Journal of Conflict and Violence. 14: 0_1, 1–20. doi:10.4119/ijcv-3809. ProQuest 2466060586. Archived from the original on 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2021-10-09.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  80. ^ Clemmitt, Marcia (March 2017). "Alt-Right Movement". CQ Researcher. 27: 241–64 – via CQ Press.
  81. ^ Rice, Tom (8 December 2015). "How the Ku Klux Klan seized cinema to become a force in America". theconversation.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  82. ^ Daniels, Jessie (February 2018). "The Algorithmic Rise of the "Alt-Right"". Contexts. 17: 60–65. doi:10.1177/1536504218766547.
  83. ^ Daniels, Jessie (19 October 2017). "Twitter and White Supremacy, A Love Story". damemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  84. ^ Noble, Safiya (2018). Algorithms of Oppression. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-1479837243.
  85. ^ "Personal Computers; Learning to Save Trees". NYT Times. Peter H Lewis, May 12, 1992.
  86. ^ a b Rahaman, Habibur (2021-06-01). "Doctor Stockmann and Greta Thunberg: Some Implications of Intellectual Resistance, Eco-activism and Unschooling" (PDF). Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning. 15 (29): 36–61. ISSN 1916-8128. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  87. ^ Morris, Steven (2021-04-24). "Blossom watch day: National Trust urges UK to share blooms". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  88. ^ "About". #NotGuilty. Archived from the original on 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  89. ^ Wells, Ione (10 October 2016), "How we talk about sexual assault online", TED Talk, archived from the original on 2018-03-20, retrieved 2018-03-27
  90. ^ a b Oleszczuk, Anna (2020-09-04). "#Hashtag: How Selected Texts of Popular Culture Engaged With Sexual Assault In the Context of the Me Too Movement in 2019". New Horizons in English Studies. 4 (5): 208–217. doi:10.17951/nh.2020.5.208-217. ISSN 2543-8980. S2CID 229015540. Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  91. ^ Fonda, Jane (January 1, 2018). "After #metoo". Nation. 306: 22–25 – via EBSCO.
  92. ^ "Beware the #MeToo Backlash—It Masks Ugly Lies About Women". Women's eNews. Archived from the original on 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  93. ^ "Witness detentions cast shadow over Egyptian 'MeToo' movement". Reuters. January 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  94. ^ a b Aydelia Gareeva; Kira Krylova; Olga Khovrina (2020). "Hacktivism: a new form of political activism". Journal of Society and the State. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  95. ^ "Classifying Forms of Online Activism" in Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice, pp. 71-95. Copyright 2003, Routledge, New York, NY
  96. ^ "Political Influentials in the 2004 Presidential campaign" (PDF). Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet, Graduate School of Political Management. February 5, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-04-07.
  97. ^ a b c d Shepherd, Laura (2010). Gender Matters in Global Politics. Routledge.
  98. ^ Shepherd, Laua (2010). Gender Matters in Global Politics. Routledge.
  99. ^ Mulligan, Emily; Tu, Katherine; Maitland, Tom (2019-12-17). "Developing Sustainable Online Fundraising". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  100. ^ Lindahl, Wesley (2019). Principles of Fundraising: Theory and Practice. Jones and Bartlett Publ. pp. 69–83. ISBN 978-0763759148.
  101. ^ McAlister, Elizabeth (2012). "Soundscapes of Disaster and Humanitarianism: Survival Singing, Relief Telethons, and the Haiti Earthquake". Small Axe. 16 (3): 22–38. doi:10.1215/07990537-1894078. S2CID 144995319. Archived from the original on 2019-06-28. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  102. ^ McAlister, Elizabeth (2012). "Soundscapes of Disaster and Humanitarianism: Survival Singing, Relief Telethons, and the Haiti Earthquake". Small Axe. 39. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  103. ^ a b c Jaber, Rimah (February 22, 2016). "Ethics in Online Activism: False Senses of Social Action or Effective Source of Change?". Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  104. ^ Jenny Pickeril "Rethinking political participation: Experiments in internet activism in Australia and Britain." Curtin University of Technology, July, 2002. Retrieved 2017-3-18.
  105. ^ Tom Head, "A Short Guide to the Ethics and Etiquette of Online Activism." Pearson, August 4, 2010. Retrieved 2017-3-18.
  106. ^ "IRMJ01mcmanus" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-10.
  107. ^ Nielsen, Jakob (2006-11-20). "Digital Divide: The Three Stages (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)". Useit.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  108. ^ Carlson, Bronwyn; Frazer, Ryan (2018). "Social Media Mob: Being Indigenous Online" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  109. ^ Nam, T. (2011). Whose e-democracy? The democratic divide in American electoral campaigns. Information Polity: The International Journal of Government & Democracy in the Information Age, 16(2), 131-150.
  110. ^ Scott Duke Harris (February 3, 2003). "Scott Duke Harris: Anti-war Movement Marshals Forces Online". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-02-16. All the Internet traffic may represent an "echo chamber" of virtual activism rather than meaningful protest, warns Barbara Epstein, a University of California-Santa Cruz professor of the history of consciousness. The Internet, she says, "allows people who agree with each other to talk to each other and gives them the impression of being part of a much larger network than is necessarily the case." The impersonal nature of communication by computer, Epstein suggests, may have a more insidious effect, undermining important human contact that always has been crucial to social movements. During the Vietnam War, "a large sector of a generation got drawn in, in a very personal way. They went to a protest because their roommate was going. The movement became the center of social life. It became the most exciting place on campus."
  111. ^ Scott Duke Harris (February 3, 2003). "Scott Duke Harris: Anti-war Movement Marshals Forces Online". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-02-16. The Internet connects an ideologically broad anti-war constituency, from the leftists of A.N.S.W.E.R. to the pressed-for-time "soccer moms" who might prefer MoveOn, and conservative activists as well. And for its part, MoveOn is itself part of an anti-war coalition that includes the NAACP, the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women and the National Council of Churches.
  112. ^ Lasar, Matthew (2009-05-12). "Ralph Nader: Internet not so hot at "motivating action"". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  113. ^ "Causebuilder Resources and Information". Causebuilder.info. Archived from the original on 2012-11-24.
  114. ^ "Cyberactivism and the Arab Revolt: Battles Waged Online and Lessons Learned (Part 1 of 9)". YouTube. 29 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  115. ^ Radsch, Courtney (May 2012). "Unveiling the Revolutionaries: Cyberactivism and Women's Role in the Arab Uprisings" (PDF). Rice University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
  116. ^ Malchik, Antonia (2019-05-06). "Why in-person protests are stronger than online activism". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06. The ease with which current social movements form often fails to signal an organizing capacity powerful enough to threaten those in authority
  117. ^ Halupka, Max (2018-01-02). "The legitimisation of clicktivism". Australian Journal of Political Science. 53 (1): 130–141. doi:10.1080/10361146.2017.1416586. ISSN 1036-1146.
  118. ^ a b c Andrew Perrin (15 October 2020). "23% of users in U.S. say social media led them to change views on an issue; some cite Black Lives Matter". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  119. ^ a b Auxier, Brooke; McClain, Colleen (9 September 2020). "Americans think social media can help build movements, but can also be a distraction". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  120. ^ Gladwell, Malcolm (October 4, 2010). "Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  121. ^ Joseph, S. (2012). "Social Media, Political Change and Human Rights". College International & Comparative Law Review. 35 (1): 301–310.
  122. ^ Greijdanus, Hedy; De Matos Fernandes, Carlos A.; Turner-Zwinkels, Felicity; Honari, Ali; Roos, Carla A.; Rosenbusch, Hannes; Postmes, Tom (2020-10-01). "The psychology of online activism and social movements: relations between online and offline collective action". Current Opinion in Psychology. 35: 49–54. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.03.003. ISSN 2352-250X. PMID 32330859.
  123. ^ Li, Hanlin; Bora, Disha; Salvi, Sagar; Brady, Erin (2018-04-21). "Slacktivists or Activists?: Identity Work in the Virtual Disability March". Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI '18. Montreal QC, Canada: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 1–13. doi:10.1145/3173574.3173799. hdl:1805/18469. ISBN 978-1-4503-5620-6. S2CID 5062011.
  124. ^ Whitten, Jessica Bursztynsky, Sarah (2020-06-02). "Instagram users flood the app with millions of Blackout Tuesday posts". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2021-04-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  125. ^ Sinanan, Jolynna (4 June 2020). "Blackout Tuesday: the black square is a symbol of online activism for non-activists". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  126. ^ Morozov, E. (2011). The Net Delusion The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. New York: Public Affairs.
  127. ^ Xu, Beina; Albert, Eleanor (Feb 17, 2017). ""Media Censorship in China."". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  128. ^ Cao, Xun; Zeng, Runxi; Evans, Richard (July 2022). "Digital activism and collective mourning by Chinese netizens during COVID-19". China Information. 36 (2): 159–179. doi:10.1177/0920203X211054172. ISSN 0920-203X. PMC 9207594. PMID 38603245.

Further reading

edit