Category: Digital Protests

Shrinking civic space and other threats in the digital environment

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In my previous blogposts Social media influencers and content creators as inspiration for digital protests – IDA and Protests online and offline – IDA I have been searching for the connection between digital and offline activism. My posts have particularly intertwined with themes like participation, feeling of belonging, activism as a community, and the role of influencers and forerunners in activism. In my final post, I will conclude the themes and also focus on the challenges and possibilities that digital activism is facing these days.

Wars, crises, and pandemics have followed one after another in recent years. Times are difficult for many, including civil society. A state of emergency has offered regimes the possibility of shaping (in other words, restricting) civil society to better serve their own purposes. How is civil society doing in a crisis-filled world?

Civic space and civil society

Notions civic space and civil society are sometimes used interchangeably (Biekart et. Al, 2023, p. 4). To understand better the challenges, threats, and possibilities of modern, and digital activism it is important to see the difference between these notions. The notion of civic space comes from the human rights discourses and is defined based on the realization of civic freedoms such as the right of assembly and expression, in the same time civic space is the enabling environment for civil society (Biekart et. Al, 2023, p. 4). The civic space is the working environment for civil society, including activism.

It is difficult to measure how effective, and strong or weak civil society is. In terms of research civic space is easier to explore. As Biekart and Fowler say: Civic space has all the attractions that civil society lacks: it can be “visualized” as bounded, dynamic – a space that can grow or shrink. (2023, p. 28). Civic space is an ever-changing environment and the changes can happen fast. Biekart and Fowler note that in countries in which civic space became more restricted, it was largely due to conservative and/or neo-populist forces gaining presence and space (2023, p.41).

Unpleasant development for civic space happened in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions made to mitigate the spread of the virus also limited the civic space. This development happened for example in Sri Lanka. During COVID the warnings issued by the authorities such as the curfews, travel restrictions, and restrictions of gatherings made a negative impact on civic space (Fernando, 2023, p. 109). When public events and meetings are halted the space for civil society is effectively restricted.

Threats and posibilities in digital world

Civic space is shrinking in many countries due to restrictions from the government and its officials. Digital activism doesn´t solve the problem because the restrictions extend to the digital world too, many social media services are banned, for example, in Russia. In the digital environment, civic space faces other threats and risks in addition to those that are shrinking the space. Roberts and Karekwaivanane argue that digital disinformation is a direct threat to democracy and to fundamental human rights in Africa, disinformation is deployed by governments as well  (2024, p.1).  Disinformation is playing an increasing role in distorting elections, inflaming  conflict  and  disrupting  crucial  policy  debates  across  the  continent  on  issues  including  vaccinations,  immigration,  gender  and  reproductive  rights (Roberts and Karekwaivanane, 2024, p.1). 

The problem is not limited to Africa, as written previously in IDA-blog in the recent election in the US the flood of misinformation kept pouring in from every direction. Also in this case the misinformation and deceitful messages are often shared by politicians and important figures themselves.

One of the great challenges in the digital civic space is accessibility. If civic space is considered to be the realization of the right of an expression the low accessibility makes it empty. In Mozambique, for example, internet use levels are low especially  in  rural  areas, only 21 percent have access to the internet (Tsandzana, 2024, p.66). People in the low-income countries are not the only ones who have access problems. These issues apply also to elderly citizens and persons with a disability.

For whom digital activism is an option?

As the (digital) civic space is shrinking, especially in countries with conservative regimes and digital accessibility is a problem, especially in low-income countries, it leaves us in a situation where digital activism is an equal option only mainly for the people in high-income countries who are educated enough to know how to pay attention for disinformation. But is it enough that we raise our voices in the digital space?

In my first post, I wrote about online and offline protests. I received a very thoughtful comment on that post, which encouraged us, the people in the Global North to do more than be active in digital channels, and defended the need to commit our physical bodies to the cause. The comment continued: we owe it to ourselves and to those we follow online to act in care and solidarity in the physical realm. After delving into the theme, realising the accessibility problems, challenges with the disinformation and restriction coming from the governments – I think it´s important to keep up the noise in all channels, also in the real world (not just in digital channels), and occupy streets and building while we still can.

Influencers and celebrities

In my post Social media influencers and content creators as inspiration for digital protests – IDA I introduced MrBeast, YouTube-content creator, who is doing global philanthropy through his platform. MrBeast´s focus is on fundraising and donating, but as he is a massively popular figure, we can compare his footprint from a larger perspective as well. Davies says that one thing to consider in assessing MrBeast’s philanthropy is the wider influence he might have on how others engage with giving (2024). Davies is suggesting that  MrBeast has a huge opportunity to influence his audience, other social media celebrities and other philanthropists. Social media influencers and anyone with large group of online followers have enormous power. It is easy, and also necessary, to criticize the phenomenon as MrBeast is criticized for the white saviorism. But as Davies argues: MrBeast has chosen to use his vast platform to talk about philanthropy and generosity, when there are many far less positive messages that young people could be getting through their engagement with the internet and social media.

Something inspirational on why to keep fighting!

In my first draft of this blog post I wrote in the end: Add here something inspirational on why to keep fighting! And here we are, in the end of my last post and I don´t know how to inspire us after writing mainly about the threats and challenges of our time. But I found from the book Civil Society Responses to Changing Civic Spaces the definition of civic space. In a world full of humanitarian crises, disinformation and war, the definition of civis space sound like an unreachable dreamland – but definitely something to fight for.

Civic space is the bedrock of any open and democratic society. When civic space is open, citizens and civil society organisations are able to organise, participate and communicate without hindrance. In doing so, they are able to claim their rights and influence the political and social structures around them. This can only happen when a state holds by its duty to protect its
citizens and respects and facilitates their fundamental rights to associate, assemble peacefully and freely express views and opinions. These are the three key rights that civil society depends upon.
Source: CIVICUS 2020

Sounds good, right? So keep up the fight!

Best,
Noora

References:

Biekart, Kees; Kontinen, Tiina; Millstein, Marianne (eds.) (2023): Civil Society Responses to Changing Civic Spaces. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Davies, Rhodri (2024): Good intent, or just good content? Assessing MrBeast’s philanthropyLinks to an external site., Journal of Philanthropy & Marketing, 29(2), e1858.

Fernando, U. (2023) Sandwiched? Sri Lankan Civic Space Amidst a Repressive Regime and a Pandemic. In Biekart, Kees; Kontinen, Tiina; Millstein, Marianne (eds.) (2023): Civil Society Responses to Changing Civic SpacesLinks to an external site. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Roberts, Tony; Karekwaivanane, George Hamandishe (eds.) (2024): Digital Disinformation in Africa-Hashtag Politics, Power and PropagandaLinks to an external site. London: Bloomsbury.

Tsandzana, D. (2024) Disinformation, social media networks and terrorism in Mozambique. In Roberts, T. & Karekwaivanane, G. (eds.) (2024): Digital Disinformation in Africa-Hashtag Politics, Power and PropagandaLinks to an external site. London: Bloomsbury.

Social media influencers and content creators as inspiration for digital protests

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“You must unite behind the science. You must take action. You must do the impossible. Because giving up can never ever be an option.”

Greta Thunberg in the US Congress, Washington DC, 17 September 2019

How can we reach as many people as possible? Content that goes viral is not often from the accounts of companies or NGOs but from personal accounts. To gain maximum volume on social media, one way (not maybe the cheapest) is to collaborate with social media influencers and, in a way, buy their audience.

What is the role of influencers and content creators in social movements? Charismatic leaders have always been meaningful in moving the social movement forward, but how does it work in the digital era? How are social media influencers, activists, NGO´s, and development actors intertwined?

Greta Thunberg is one of the most famous activists of our time. She became well known for her street protests, and Fridays for Future –movement. The movement grew to become also a huge digital protest and digital movement. Greta Thunberg is nowadays a famous figure and, you could say, a social media influencer and digital activist.

Motaz Azaiza is a photojournalist from Gaza, who has become familiar to the Western audience during the last year.  Motaz Azaiza documented the war in Gaza and its impact on civilian daily life. He is now abroad from his homeland, traveling around the world, meeting people giving interviews, and raising his voice for the Palestinians.

I watched a videocast in Zeteo where Greta Thunberg and Motaz Azaiza talked about Gaza and activism. The setup itself is very interesting. Two famous activists of our time delved into the feelings and motives of activism. Greta Thunberg became known as a climate activist but has been also active in standing up for Palestinians. Her choice has been criticized, but in this article, she explains that the main driver for her activism is always to defend human rights in climate issues and conflict zones.

Movements need forerunners

In the interview, Motaz Azaiza says that there are a lot of good people in the world and that his intention now is to gather those people together. Greta Thunberg praises him for being an invaluable voice in articulating how everyone needs to step up and take action to call out Israel’s actions and the complicity of the West. With his platform, pictures, and footage, he has made sure that no one can remain unaffected by this live broadcast of genocide and apartheid.

Why Thunberg decided to speak up and to interview Azaiza, she explains that: We need a media that challenges the status quo, holds people in power accountable, and communicates the stories of real hope that make us want to step out of our comfort zones and actually make a difference.

Digital activists and digital forerunners are essential for movements to grow and gain an audience. We need forerunners like Azaiza to use their persona and platform to gather people together. And we need a new kind of storytelling and narrative, that contests the mainstream media, as Thunberg suggests, and for that, we need digital activists and content creators.

The motive behind the action

Motaz Azaiza explains that his motive for standing up for the rights of Palestinians is different from those who are not Palestinians. In the interview, he describes that activism is part of his responsibility towards his home and land. It´s a way to serve his homeland.

In his case, the motive behind activism is very personal. For many Westerners choosing activism is supporting what they believe in, and their own right to live is not in danger. As Thunberg says: “People like me, who have privileges, we have to use them.”

Social media influencers using their platform

But what happens when social media influencers use their privileges and platforms? Social media influencers who already have a big audience are often asked to use their platform to make noise about social issues. The world’s most successful YouTube content creator MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) is using his success for a good cause by donating his money. 

When someone is profiling himself as a good doer (white savior) the question of doing good or looking good is always there. If you are a social media influencer, how much good do you need to do, or how well do you need to know the topic, to be able to post about it – and not get criticized?

In the aidnography blog, Tobias Denskus reflects on MrBeast´s footprint in the aid industry, and pops up an interesting question “We also have to ask ourselves what better ways of communication we have in the third decade of the 21st century”. It is undeniable that social media influencers and other celebrities have the channels and means to reach a wide audience. Last spring during the Super Bowl, social media memes hoped that pop star Taylor Swift was in love with a climate scientist. Swift rushing to the Super Bowl to cheer on her boyfriend Travis Kelce got so much media attention that climate activists can only dream of something similar.

Do you know any good examples of activists on social media? I will come back to this topic in my last post.

Best,

Noora

Protests online and offline

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“One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are not alone.”
bell hooks

I ran into this quote on an Instagram account that shares information on demonstrations and protests that are happening in Finland in support of Palestinians. The idea of resistance as a comforting action, a way of building community is fascinating.

For me taking part in a demonstration has always been an emotional experience. 2018 when huge climate marches happened everywhere, also in Finland, it felt good, and comforting to realise that millions of others are concerned about climate issues and are willing to use their time to come together, make signs, and march together. For a moment it felt like together we can change the development and heal the environment.

For the past year, pro-Palestine demonstrations have taken place all around Finland, in Helsinki every week. Coming together, and showing solidarity has felt important, and personally also a place where you can grieve. Over 14 000 children have died in the war in Gaza after October 2023. Witnessing that horror – through digital channels – is overwhelming and deeply sad. Some of the demonstrations have been silent candle demonstrations, they felt a kind of memorial service for those who lost their lives.

A homeplace

The quote in the beginning is from the book Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. In the same book hooks describes a site of resistance, a homeplace, like this:

“This task of making homeplace was not simply a matter of black women providing service; it was about the construction of a safe place where black people could affirm one another and by so doing heal many of the wounds inflicted by racist domination. We could not learn to love or respect ourselves in the culture of white supremacy, on the outside; it was there on the inside, in that “homeplace,” most often created and kept by black women, that we had the opportunity to grow and develop, to nurture our spirits.”

What kind of communities of resistance are there in the digital world? And how the protests and demonstrations in real life are in connection with the digital world? Protests are photographed and live-streamed to social media, social media channels are used as a way to share information and educate people. But the idea of a homeplace, a community of resistance highlights the importance of collective support and a feeling of community – can you get that also digitally?

In my IDA blogposts, I will explore this topic. The links between online and offline activism. This blog post-series is also my journey of finding ways and methodologies to study the topic.

Online, offline, or both?

I come from Finland, where even small children have their mobile phones. The digital world is intertwined in everything we do. From my perspective, all offline activism is somehow connected to digital channels. Can online and offline activism even be separated?

“The success of online activism is reliant on several factors, chief among them, the effective coordination with offline activities. Even those who believe the internet was instrumental in determining the success of the Arab Spring would admit that had activists not taken to the streets, then perhaps, having typically overstayed his mandate, the ex-President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, would not have seen the need to give up.” Mutsvairo (2016)

This quote from the book Digital Activism in the Social Media Era argues that online activism needs offline activism, to be able to achieve change. Mutsvairo continues with an explanation of an argument by Anduiza et al. (2009) who have characterized activism in three different categories, drawing a distinction between activities that are only possible online, those only conceivable offline, and offline activities that can also be carried out online. This distinction seems like a good starting point for my expedition in digital activism.

What next?

Having a channel where to communicate and finding the right audience is already the first step of building a community. The digital world is not accessible to all, but for those who can access digital channels, it offers a way to speak for themselves. A study from Zimbabwe argues that digital tools are empowering activists:

“The study found that social media has given Zimbabwe’s unique digital activists the power, in real or illusory sense, to challenge narratives of-ten advanced by post-colonial hegemonies.“ Karam et al. (2021)

The text also suggests that social media platforms offer a space and a voice perhaps in the same way that coffee houses and restaurants before. Could you even say: a digital homebase?

Best,
Noora

Before you go, I would like to ask about your experiences. What kind of experiences do you have about taking part in digital activism? Did you feel you were a part of a community of resistance, a homeplace?

 

References:
  • Anduiza, E., Cantijoch, M., & Gallego, A. (2009). ‘Political participation and the Internet.’ Information, Communication & Society.
  • hooks, bell (2015): Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics.
  • Karam, Beschara; Mutsvairo, Bruce (eds.) (2021): Decolonising Political Communication in Africa-Reframing Ontologies.
  • Mutsvairo, Bruce (2016): Digital Activism in the Social Media Era.