Twitter and activism

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The example of #BlackLivesMatter highlights the

importance of social media to contemporary social
movements, campaigning for social justice and change.
Around the world, different social media platforms have been
adopted by activists as tools of coordination, informationsharing, collaboration, and as protest spaces themselves. In
addition to protesting in the streets and occupying public
spaces, activists use public social media to increase visibility
and to share their messages and updates.
The Arab Spring
In late 2010 and early 2011, several countries in the Middle
East and northern Africa experienced protests against
governments and regimes, including Tunisia, Egypt, Libya,
Bahrain, and Yemen. Alongside older information and
communication technologies (telephones, email, photocopiers),
social and mobile media including Twitter, Facebook and text
messaging were important tools for protesters to coordinate
their activities and to share what was happening with a global
audience. Popular hashtags like #jan25 and #egypt helped to
centralise key information, and activists and journalists with
local knowledge became prominent sources for updates and
analysis. In Egypt, the Mubarak regime reacted by blocking
access to the internet an approach that has since been used
in other countries, such as Turkey, in response to dissent and
protest.
The Arab Spring saw mass protests and demonstrations in the
streets against regimes, in prominent places like Tahrir Square
in Cairo, Egypt. The physical act of protesting was obviously a
key part in the success of the movements in causing political

change, but social media also played a role: it helped give

these movements global attention, bypassing local media and
political situations, and was of use to activists too. However,
opinion has differed as to whether or not the Arab Spring, and
other activism from Occupy Wall Street to #BlackLivesMatter,
was a social media revolution or not, and whether or not
social media were critical to the success of these protests. You
can read on about these movements, and the relationship
between activism and technology, in the articles below.
Have your say
Its time for a debate! Are social media tools for social
change? Why or why not? Share your ideas in the
discussion, and use the Arab Spring or your own
example to justify your response.