Social Media as a Public Space For Political Activism: The Use of Twitter During Gezi Park Protests

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Begüm Burak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Peak Time ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Arab Spring

Political polarization in Turkey has not only been visible during electoral processes but it has also been evident in non-electoral processes in online and offline protests. Gezi Park protests in 2013 denote to such processes. This study analyzes the use of Twitter during Gezi Park protests that had sparked mass protests and a big polarization. The role of Twitter had been influential in mobilizing the masses in the protests. During Gezi protests as seen in the Arab Spring, Twitter was used by the protesters in a dense way in the polarized political environment. Using the “mediated populism” as the theoretical framework, this study argues that social media has paved the way for the emergence of a citizen-centered public space in times of crisis and polarization during Gezi protests. The data that will be under analysis consist of the tweets posted on Twitter during the peak of Gezi protests. The date between May 25 and June 16, 2013 is taken as the time span that refers to the peak time of protests. By detecting top-mentioned tweets, this study aims to analyze how political activism had been expressed by the protesters. To achieve this aim, the randomly selected tweets posted in this time span were examined by conducting content analysis methodology.

scholarly journals Polarization in the contemporary political and media landscape

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E Wilson ◽  
Victoria Parker ◽  
Matthew Feinberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Ideological Polarization ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Polarization Phenomena ◽  
Partisan Media ◽  
Over Time

Political polarization is on the rise in America. Although social psychologists frequently study the intergroup underpinnings of polarization, they have traditionally had less to say about macro societal processes that contribute to its rise and fall. Recent cross-disciplinary work on the contemporary political and media landscape provides these complementary insights. In this paper, we consider the evidence for and implications of political polarization, distinguishing between ideological, affective, and false polarization. We review three key societal-level factors contributing to these polarization phenomena: the role of political elites, partisan media, and social media dynamics. We argue that institutional polarization processes (elites, media and social media) contribute to people’s misperceptions of division among the electorate, which in turn can contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle fueling animosity (affective polarization) and actual ideological polarization over time.

Bridging Women Rights Networks

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serpil T. Yuce ◽  
Nitin Agarwal ◽  
Rolf T. Wigand ◽  
Merlyna Lim ◽  
Rebecca S. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Cooperative Networks ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Digital Activism ◽  
Network Support ◽  
Diffusion Of Information ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Women Rights

In recent mass protests such as the Arab Spring and Occupy movements, protesters used social media to spread awareness, coordinate, and mobilize support. Social media-assisted collective action has attracted much attention from journalists, political observers, and researchers of various disciplines. In this article, the authors study transnational online collective action through the lens of inter-network cooperation. The authors analyze interaction and support between the women's rights networks of two online collective actions: ‘Women to Drive' (primarily Saudi Arabia) and ‘Sexual Harassment' (global). Methodologies used include: extracting each collective action's social network from blogs authored by female Muslim bloggers (23 countries), mapping interactions among network actors, and conducting sentiment analysis on observed interactions to provide a better understanding of inter-network support. The authors examine these two distinct but overlapped networks of collective actions and discover that brokering and bridging processes can facilitate the diffusion of information, coalition formation, and the expansion of the networks. The broader goal of the study is to examine the dynamics between interconnected collective actions. This research contributes to understanding the mobilization of social movements in digital activism and the role of cooperative networks in online collective action.

scholarly journals THE EMERGENCE OF STATE SPHERE IN SOCIAL MEDIA: A POLITICAL BALKANIZATION IN MALAYSIA

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 811-819
Author(s):  
Badrul Mohamed ◽  
Mohammad Agus Yusoff ◽  
Zawiyah Mohd Zain ◽  
Dori Efendi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Political Experience ◽  
Political Events ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Ruling Party

Social media has phenomenally replaced the traditional media. Blogs have transformed news reporting; YouTube has reinvented talent sourcing; and the trinity (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) have revolutionary changed the rules of the game of regime change. Enabling commoners to be producers and its interactiveness are the two most important characteristics that grant the ordinary citizens to be extra-ordinary. From Tinseltown to Alexandria, the roles of social media has been unstoppably growing. The world political events in the recent times, particularly the Arab Spring have shown a strong correlation between social media and democratization. Malaysias political experience in recent years, in particular the 12th General Election (GE-12) in 2008 is comparable to the Arab Spring in view of the alluring role of social media and its gladiatorial impacts in politics. The failure of Barisan Nasional (BN or National Front, the only ruling party since independence) to retain its customary two-third majority in GE-12 is a proof of peoples growing desire to enjoy democracy that among others offer free and fair elections, good-governance, and social justice which are dissimilar to existing communalism and strong government. At a glance, GE-13 in 2013 produced similar results as GE-12 which displayed fortification of democracy among citizens. In contrast, further analyses toward the details of GE-13 surfaced the revival of communalism and autoritarinism which have shown signs of decay in GE-12. Thus, this article explores the conflictual roles of social media which (has been functioning as an ideal public sphere) when the ruling party together with the state machinery invade the sphere of social media to satisfy their political agenda. This investigation showcases the anarchic sphere in social media is not only capable in catalyzing democratization, but also undermining democracy by propagating political Balkanization that propels disjointed feelings among multi-racial citizens.

scholarly journals Social consequences of the 2020 regional elections in Indonesia under the covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-542
Author(s):  
V. L. Muzykant ◽  
M. A. Muqsith
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Regional Elections

The article considers the relationship between the 2020 regional elections in Indonesia under the covid-19 pandemic, public space, and political activism in the social media. The covid-19 pandemic has changed the social, political and cultural fabric of the contemporary world. First, the covid-19 threatened the countrys healthcare system, then it affected other aspects of social life, including the political sphere. The pandemic has been exacerbated by the spread of misinformation about the covid-19, which is also known as the infodemic. Thus, the covid-19 pandemic influenced the choice of holding elections or delaying it until the situation is under control. The development of the social media encourages political activism in the political public sphere and makes it more diverse in the sphere of egalitarianism. The political public sphere becomes increasingly dynamic and critical to various policies. Indonesia did not postpone the 2020 regional elections under the covid-19 crisis. According to the health protocol, this decision had its pros and cons in the digital space. The authors show that political activists in the social media called for prioritizing health rather than the process of democratization through elections, while the government supporters insisted on having elections even in the covid-19 pandemic situation. Finally, the 2020 regional elections were held but were followed by various incidents. The question is whether the governments argument to hold elections under the covid-19 pandemic was reasonable or, on the contrary, contributed to the wider spread of the covid-19 in Indonesia. Deliberative democracy should consider civil participation as the main pillar of the political system, which is relevant for the new social reality as based on the new social media technologies.

scholarly journals UPAYA PENINGKATAN PEMEREKAN ORGANISASI BERBASIS DARING MELALUI PELATIHAN MENGEMBANGKAN MEDIA SOSIAL RPTRA DHARMA SUCI

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Christian
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Government Expenditure ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Effectiveness Of Training ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Corporate Social

The regulation of the Governor of DKI Jakarta Number 196 (2015) on Child Friendly Integrated Public Space (RPTRA) explains the open areas for children that can be a positive medium for interaction and play. The development of RPTRA in DKI Jakarta is not fully funded by the DKI Jakarta government through the Regional Government Expenditure Budget (APBD), but the program also involves companies in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In terms of marketing, this synergy program can not only strengthen the organizations/companies involved in the CSR program but indirectly can help the existing RPTRA to more easily introduce the implementation of its activities through branding. The concept of branding for the organization is not an easy thing not only for the surrounding community as RPTRA's board but also for marketers. Social networking sites can be a powerful medium in developing RPTRA as an organizational brand that makes marketing communications have a significant influence on how organizations communicate to their customers. This study aims to measure the effectiveness of training on the role of social media to improve online organization. The method used by observation measurement at two periods (before and after training) and the effectiveness of training provided (using SPSS 22.0). The result of this training is able to explain the increasing effectiveness of the use of social media RPTRA Dharma Suci and utilization of supporting media elements in it such as photos, videos and so on. Suggestions for further research may consider the use of other social medias and observations over a longer time span.<br />Keywords: RPTRA, branding, organization, social media

Do-it-Yourself Activism in Pakistan: The Fatal Celebrity of Qandeel Baloch

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainab B. Alam
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Visual Culture ◽  
Public Space ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
Honor Killing ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
Use Of Social Media

In July 2016, Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was asphyxiated by her brother and gained posthumous celebrity in the West where her death was sensationally categorized as an honor-killing. Yet Qandeel was a celebrity in her own right among South Asians long before her death. Through skillful use of social media, she created new forms of public space and used them to challenge dominant social norms and political practices. I examine Qandeel’s “do-it-yourself activism”—her innovative use of the digital public sphere to position herself as a worthy representative of Pakistani nationality; to critique long-established norms governing gender, class, and sexuality; and to expand the boundaries of national belonging in Pakistan to include culturally rebellious women of limited economic means. By examining Qandeel’s audacious means of standing for Pakistan, her deployment of marriage proposals as a mode of subversive political activism within the political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice, PTI), and her use of visual culture (“selfies”) to challenge the moral authority of a powerful Islamic cleric, I theorize a form of political activism grounded in women’s agency that deploys celebrity to illuminate and politicize injustices.

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