Emerging Securities
The Power of the ‘Gram: Virtual Agency in Human Protest By Cass van Douveren The past few months have been characterised by intense political turmoil. Hong Kong, Barcelona, Chile, Lebanon - government decisions have not gone unnoticed and have led general populations to the streets pressing for more democracy and a reduction in corruption and unemployment. A common denominator uniting these protests is the role social media has played in inspiring and sustaining them. In Hong Kong, Telegram and the iPhone Airdrop function have enabled images and ideas to be spread and mass protests to be arranged. In Catalonia, the pro-independence organisation, Tsunami Democràtic, uses an Android app and a Telegram account to organise protests. Chileans are faced with
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17 countless documentations of police phenomenon is not guaranteed. brutality on social media platforms How can social media be squared after President Sebastian Piñera with the need for a clear figurehead declared the country to be in a able to lead a protest movement? state of emergency. In Lebanon, How can it be trusted in the age of where protest stemmed from “fake news?” How can it manoeuvre government’s attempt to tax the potent forces of polarisation WhatsApp calls, the hashtag and achieve practical #LebanonProtests has united improvements for the people at Sunni, Shia, Druze and Christian large? These questions will become citizens in voicing their crucial for the future of protest. dissatisfaction with the current Pointing out the downfalls of social regime. The phenomenon of social media as a tool of protest, media igniting and sustaining however, is not the answer. protests is relatively new. Whereas Discussion of how it can be used to past revolutions further were driven by progressive manifestoes and causes is guerrilla warfare, where we the sources of “The Left finds chatrooms to should focus modern day our protests are propagate their views; the attention. Facebook, First, it Whatsapp and Right confirms its opinions should be Telegram chats, in the comment section.” pointed out the stories of that a lot of Instagram and social media the quick tweets. protests are It is on social leaderless media that people connect with and therefore do not contain one likeminded others and spread ideas, with the hope of inducing united, coherent goal. “Be formless, policy change in the non-virtual shapeless, like water,” is the Hong world. The Arab Spring, Occupy Kong slogan, and it is true: the Wall Street and the Turkish Gezi Hong-Kong protests are formed Park demonstrations are but a few through as a collective without one past examples of social media central leading authority. The initiating and sustaining mass young, pro-democracy protesters protests. have to face two opposing parties: However, the success of this the Chinese, who influence the city, and the pro-Beijing Hong-Kongers. As with any political unrest, the only hope for progress and solution is through compromise where the three parties have some, but not all, of their needs met. Currently, however, the situation Hong Kong is faced with is that any protester wanting to negotiate and find a solution through compromise will be belittled and neutralised on social media for betraying the cause. To keep alive any hope of progress, some decisions need to be made - preferably by a figurehead who will not be “blocked” by the social media following. Moreover, as protesters in Chile - who have been demanding a reduction in public
