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#OccupyTwitter:AContentAnalysisofTorontoActivistsUseofTwitterDuringtheOccupyMovement
byRobertBruceWoodrich
BachelorofArtsHonoursCommunicationStudies,UniversityofWindsor,2011MajorResearchPaper
SubmittedtotheDepartmentofCommunicationStudiesinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsfor
MasterofArtsWilfridLaurierUniversity
2013
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Abstract
Thispaperexplorestherelationshipbetweensocialmediaandsocialchange.
Itdoessospecificallybyexaminingtweetscontainingthehashtags#occTO,
#occupyto,and#occupytoronto,allofwhichwereusedtocarryonaconversation
aboutthe2011OccupyTorontomovement.Groundedinalternativemediaand
socialmovementtheory,acontentanalysisisconductedonasampleof7,858
tweets.Aseriesofresearchquestionsareposedwithinthisstudy,primarilythe
questionofwhethertheTwitterconversationregardingOccupyTorontoplaced
greateremphasisonthemovementsissues,oronpoliceandviolence.Otherworks
haveidentifiedthatmainstreammediaplaceanemphasisonthelatter,andarecent
studyregardingthe2010TorontoG20protestsfoundthatactivistsappeartobe
mirroringthispractice.ThefindingsofthisstudysuggestthatOccupyToronto
activistsuseofTwitterdidnotemphasizepoliceandviolence,althoughtherewas
atleastonedayonwhichtweetsheavilyemphasizedpoliceandviolenceoverissues
byaratioofseventoone.Assuch,thereappearstobeacorrelationbetweenan
increasedpolicepresenceataprotestsite,andwhetheractivistsarereportingon
policeandviolenceonline.
Keywords:Activism,alternativemedia,contentanalysis,OccupyToronto,social
media,socialmovements,Twitter
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Acknowledgements
Iwouldliketothankmyfather,BruceWoodrich,forprovidingthe
encouragement,love,andsupportIneededtomakeitthisfar.Dad,Icouldnothave
doneitwithoutyou.Thankyouforleadingtheway,andforshowingmewhatIcan
achievethroughhardworkandperseverance.Myheartfeltthanksarealsoextended
toKimberleyOrrforherunconditionalsupport,andforthemanymonthsspent
listeningtometalkaboutmyresearch.AmandaOrr,yoursageadviceandediting
serviceswereappreciatedasalways.ThomasSasso,youarethebestbrothat
anyonecouldaskfor,andIamespeciallythankfulforyourmethodologicalexpertise.
Iamgratefultomysupervisor,Dr.MartinMorris,myreader,Dr.JeremyHunsinger,
andDr.AbbyGoodrumforhelpingmetoobtainthedataanalyzedinthisstudy.
Finally,thankstoMesli.Youmayhavebeenbornhalfwaythroughthisstudy,but
thatdidnotkeepyoufromtryingtoeditit.
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TableofContents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Chapter1:LiteratureonSocialMovementsandReporting...................................................5FromSocialMovementstoSocialNetworks..........................................................................................5
WhatHappenedBeforeNewMedia?........................................................................................................8
WhySocialMovementsNeedNewMedia.............................................................................................11
ToTweetorNottoTweet?........................................................................................................................21
Chapter2:TheoreticalFramework..............................................................................................30TheBuildingBlocksforaModernSocialMovement........................................................................30
AlternativeMedia.........................................................................................................................................30
SocialMovements.........................................................................................................................................38
Chapter3:MethodologicalFramework......................................................................................50ContentmentwithContentAnalysis.......................................................................................................50
WhatIsContentAnalysis?.........................................................................................................................50
WhyContentAnalysis?...............................................................................................................................52
WhatContentWasAnalyzed?...................................................................................................................54
CodingManual...............................................................................................................................................56
WhyWerentRetweetsIncluded?...........................................................................................................57
Chapter4:AnalysisandArgument...............................................................................................59VoxTwitter,VoxPopuli:TheVoiceofTwitterIstheVoiceofthePeople.................................59
AnsweringKrippendorffsSixQuestions..............................................................................................59
InterpretingtheData..................................................................................................................................63Table1...............................................................................................................................................................................64Table2...............................................................................................................................................................................65Table3...............................................................................................................................................................................66
Argument.........................................................................................................................................................68
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................72
References............................................................................................................................................75
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Introduction
Intheearly21stcentury,socialmediaplatformssuchasFacebookand
Twitterrepresentthepreferredmediaofchoiceforsocialmovementactivists.
Socialmediahavebeenabletocompletelytransformhowprotesterscommunicate,
fromCairosTahrirSquaretoNewYorkCitysWallStreet.Untilrecently,activists
hadbeenutilizingalternativemediasuchaszinesandlater,thewebsite
Indymedia,butsinceatleast2009(Gaffney2010),theyappeartohavemadethe
leaptosocialmediaalongwiththerestofthewiredworld.
However,alongsideactivistsdecisiontousesocialmediahasarisena
dilemma.Whileitwasfirstnotedin1970thatmainstreamprotestreportingwas
portrayingprotestsasbeingaboutspectacleandviolenceratherthanaboutacause
(Halloran,Elliott,&Murdock1970),socialmovementactivistsnowseemtohave
reflectedthistrendthemselves.AsidentifiedbyThomasPoellandErikBorra
(2011),areversalappearstohavetakenplace.Ifthisisindeedsomethingthat
activistsarenowdoing,itwillcallintoseriousquestiontheirownabilitytocriticize
themainstreammediaforreportingontheirprotestsasoften-violentspectacle
ratherthanasbeingconnectedtoalargercause.
ThoughthisstudydrawsinspirationfromthatofPoell&Borra(2011),no
twosocialmovementsareexactlyalikeandmorethanonestudyofthisnaturewill
benecessarybeforeitcanbeconclusivelydemonstratedthatsocialmovement
activistsareactuallyreflectingtheseaspectsofmainstreamprotestreporting.Given
thatPoell&Borras(2011)casestudyfocusedonaToronto,Canada-based
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movement,itseemedappropriatethatthefocusofthiscasestudyalsobeona
Toronto-basedmovement.Atthetimeofwriting,OccupyTorontowasthelatest
socialmovementtohaveemergedfromTorontosincethe2010TorontoG20
protests.Additionally,OccupyTorontosmainoccupationsitewashometo
relativelylittlepolicepresenceorviolencewhencontrastedwiththe2010G20
TorontosummitproteststhatwerethefocusofPoell&Borras(2011)casestudy.
Theresultsofthisstudywillthusbegintoshedlightonwhetheractivistsalways
focusonpoliceactivityandviolenceratherthantheirownissues,oriftheysimply
dosowhenthereisarelativelylargepolicepresencetoreporton.Itisforthese
reasonsthatOccupyTorontowasselectedforanalysis.
Thisstudyhasbeenorganizedintofourchapters,includingaliterature
review,overviewofthetheoreticalandmethodologicalframework,andfinally,an
analysisofthedata.TheanalysissectioncontainsthecasestudyofOccupyToronto
tweets.Fivespecificresearchquestionsareanswered,withtwocominginthe
theoreticalfoundationchapterandafurtherthreebeingansweredintheanalysis.
Theconclusionprovidesadiscussionofthisstudyslimitations,aswellassuggested
avenuesforfurtherresearch.
Theliteraturereviewwilloutlinewhathappenedintheperiodbeforesocial
movementactivistsadoptednewmedia,movetoworksdiscussingwhysocial
movementsneednewmedia,andfinally,provideanoverviewofliteraturethat
examinehowsocialmovementactivistscametouseTwitterasanalternative
medium.Thetheoryandmethodssectioncoversalternativemediaandsocial
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movementtheory,aswellasanoverviewofthecontentanalysismethodthatis
usedinthestudysanalysis.Theanalysissectionoutlinestheresultsofacontent
analysisof7,858OccupyTorontotweets.
First,itisimportanttodeterminewhetherOccupyTorontomovement
activistsusedTwitterasalternativemedia.UsingChrisAttons(2002)typologyof
alternativemedia,itwillbeshownhowthisuseofTwitterdoesqualifyasan
exampleofalternativemedia.Second,itisequallyimportanttodemonstratethat
OccupyTorontoqualifiesasasocialmovement.Afterall,ifitwerenotasocial
movement,OccupyTorontowouldhavemadeapoorchoiceforacasestudy
examiningsocialmovementactivistsuseofalternativemedia.Relyinguponthe
theoryofCharlesTilly(2004)andSidneyG.Tarrow(2011),itwillbeshownhow
OccupyTorontodoesfitthedefinitionofasocialmovement.Third,astudywas
conductedontheentiretweetdatasetcontainingthethreemostpopularOccupy
Torontohashtags.Thedifferencesinthedataandtheaimofthisstudycomparedto
thePoell&Borra(2011)studyaccountforthedifferenceinoutcomes.Fourth,an
answertothequestionofwhethertherewereanydaysonwhichOccupyToronto
activistsdidtalkmoreaboutpoliceandviolencewasfound.Fifth,thequestionofthe
significanceoftheseresultsisanswered.
Thisstudyissignificantinthatfurtheracademicunderstandingofsocial
movementactivistsuseofalternativemediawasandisneeded.Thevalidityof
activistsuseofsocialmediaasalternativemediaiscalledintoquestionifall
activistsdoisfocusonevent-basedpoliceviolenceinthewaythatmainstream
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mediahavebeendocumentedasdoing.BecausePoell&Borra(2011)foundthat
2010G20protestersaccountmirroredoften-criticizedmainstreamprotest
reportingpractices(Poell&Borra2011:1),itisimportanttodeterminewhether
theirresultswereunique,orwhethersocialmovementactivistsareconsistently
mirroringmainstreammediacoverageofspectacleandviolenceintheirown
alternativemediaaccount.BecausethisstudyfindsthatOccupyTorontoactivists
didnotconsistentlyframecoverageoftheirownmovementthroughalensof
violence,itprovidesvaluableresearchthatsupplementsPoell&Borras(2011)
study,andsuggeststhatthereisnosimpleanswertothequestionofwhethersocial
movementactivistsareindeedmirroringthepracticesofmainstreamprotest
reportingintheirownalternativeaccount.
Althoughadditionalresearchonothersocialmovementsisneeded,this
studyraisesanimportantquestion.Ifsocialmovementactivistsarenotdiscussing
theirissueswhenthespotlightisonthem,butratherframetheirmovement
throughalensofpoliceandviolence,howcanmainstreamprotestreportsbe
expectedtoframetheirmovementanydifferently?Ifactivistsonlyfocusonpolice
andviolenceoncertaindays,doesthismakeadifferenceandparticularlyifactivists
dosoondayswhentheyareexposedtoheightenedmainstreammediaattention?
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Chapter1:LiteratureonSocialMovementsandReporting
FromSocialMovementstoSocialNetworks
Inthisliteraturereview,11seminalworksarereviewedcategorizedinto3
identifiedthemes.ThesethemescanbecolloquiallyclassifiedasWhathappened
beforenewmedia,Whysocialmovementsneednewmedia,andTotweetornot
totweet.Theliteraryworksspanscholarlyexaminationofactivismandprotests
frompopularoppositiontotheVietnamWartothe2010G20summitprotestin
Toronto,Canada.Theseworksrepresenttheliteraturemostpertinenttothisstudy,
andplacethisstudywithinabroaderhistoricalcontext.Thesebeginwiththefirst
casestudyofdemonstrationreportinguptowhyTwitteriscurrentlythebest
platformforsocialmovementactiviststoreportindependentlyofmainstream
media.Tounderstandhowsocialmovementsfirstcametorecognizethatan
alternativetomainstreamprotestreportingwasnecessary,andhowthisledtotheir
currentuseofTwitter,areviewoftheseworksisnecessary.
Twoworksemergetimeandtimeagainwithregardtoprovidingahistorical
contexttosocialmovementandmediaresearch.TheseareJamesHalloran,Philip
ElliottandGrahamMurdocksDemonstrationandCommunication:ACaseStudy
(1970),andToddGitlinsTheWholeWorldIsWatching:MassMediaintheMaking
andUnmakingoftheNewLeft(1980).Severalmoreappearwithregardtoproviding
abasisfortheclaimthatsocialmovementsneednewmedia,mainlyManuelCastells
CommunicationPower(2009)andThePowerofIdentity(2010),SimonCottle's
ReportingDemonstrations:TheChangingMediaPoliticsofDissent(2008),Sara
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PlatonandMarkDeuze'sIndymediaJournalism:ARadicalWayofMaking,Selecting
andSharingtheNews?(2003),andWimvandeDonk,BrianD.Loader,PaulG.Nixon,
andDieterRucht'sCyberprotest:NewMedia,CitizensandSocialMovements(2004).
Lastly,IhaveidentifiedagroupofworksthatsupporttheclaimthatTwitteris
superiortootherformsofsocialmediawhenusedbyactivistsasanalternativeto
mainstreamreporting.Thesearedanahboyd,ScottGolder,andGiladLotan'sTweet,
Tweet,Retweet:ConversationalAspectsofRetweetingonTwitter(2010),Meeyoung
Cha,HamedHaddadi,FabrcioBenevenuto,andKrishnaP.Gummadi'sMeasuring
UserInfluenceinTwitter:TheMillionFollowerFallacy(2010),DavidGaffney's
#iranElection:QuantifyingOnlineActivism(2010),andThomasPoellandErik
Borra'sTwitter,YouTube,andFlickrasPlatformsofAlternativeJournalism:The
SocialMediaAccountofthe2010TorontoG20Protests(2011).AlthoughIhave
attemptedtoneatlyclassifytheseworksintodistinctcategories,itshouldbenoted
thatthereisacertaindegreeofoverlapbetweenthecategories.
Theearliestworksdealwithmainstreammediacoverageoftheanti-Vietnam
Warsocialmovement.DemonstrationsandCommunication:ACaseStudy(1970)is
mentionedinthreeoftheworkscontainedinthisliteraturereview:thoseofCottle
(2008);Poell&Borra(2011);andvandeDonk,Loader,Nixon,&Rucht(2004).Itis
alsonotableasthefirstsuchcasestudyofprotestreporting.Thisservesasa
precursortotheideathatsocialmovementactivistsneedtorelyontheirownmedia,
asopposedtomainstreammediacoverage.TheWholeWorldIsWatching:Mass
MediaintheMakingandUnmakingoftheNewLeftismentionedinfiveoftheworks
examinedherein:thoseofCastells(2009;2010),Cottle(2008),Poell&Borra(2011),
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andvandeDonketal.(2004).Theseworksrepresentnotonlyimportantcase
studiesofhistoricalsocialmovementactivity,buthavebeenimmenselyinfluential
throughoutthehumanitiesandsocialsciences.
Morerecently,scholarshavenotedthatsocialmovementsneedtoproduce
theirownmediacoverageiftheyaretobeportrayedfavourably.Whetherbywayof
alternativemultimediaplatformssuchasIndymedia(Castells1997,2009;Cottle
2008;Platon&Deuze2003),orbyutilizingnewmediamorebroadly(vandeDonk
etal.2004),ithasbeenrecognizedthattheconditionsnotedbyGitlin(1980)and
Halloranetal.(1970)willnotchangeifactivistsaretorelyonmainstreammediato
providecoverageofdemonstrations.Specifically,mainstreammediaportray
protestsaseventsunconnectedtoabroadercausebyfocusingprimarilyonviolence.
Inthepresentdecade,abodyofworkhasbeguntoemergeindicatingthat
Twitteristheidealsiteforactiviststoreportontheirowndemonstrations.This
literaturedescribeshowinfluentialTwitteruserscanbe(Cha,Haddadi,Benevenuto,
&Gummadi2010),howTwittercanfacilitateabroaderconversationabouta
subject(boyd,Golder,&Lotan2010),andhowTwitterallowsactiviststotaketheir
protestsonline(Gaffney2010;Poell&Borra2011).TheypointtoTwitterbeing
preferabletoplatformssuchasFacebook,Flickr,andYouTubewhenitcomesto
facilitatingactivistreporting.AnalysisofTwitteruseduringeventsrangingfromthe
2009Iraniannationalelectiontothe2010TorontoG20proteststotheArabSpring
featuremostprominentlyinworkspertainingtothissubject(Gaffney2010;
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Khondker2011;Lotan,Graeff,Ananny,Gaffney,Pearce,&boyd2011;Poell&Borra
2011).
Asidefromtheworksselectedforreview,thereareothersthatappear
frequentlyandareworthmentioning.ChiefamongtheseareJohnD.H.Downings
RadicalMedia:RebelliousCommunicationandSocialMovements(2001),andRobert
A.HackettsNewsandDissent:ThePressandthePoliticsofPeaceinCanada(1991).
Downingiscitedinseveraloftheworkscoveredhere(Castells2009;Poell&Borra
2011;vandeDonketal.2004),butRadicalMedia(2001)isnotasdirectlyrelatable
tothisstudyasaretheworksselected.Hisbookprovidesaverybroadoverviewof
anabundanceofalternativemedia(i.e.,dance,graffiti,streettheatre,etc.)thatis
moreusefulasatheoreticalunderpinningratherthanadirectlyapplicableguidefor
thiscasestudy.HackettsNewsandDissent(1991),whilenotcitedinanyofthe
selectedworks,isalsoregularlycitedinrelationtomassmediacoverageof
demonstrations.
WhatHappenedBeforeNewMedia?
Toprovidehistoricalcontextforthisstudy,itisimportanttoacknowledge
andexaminetheemergenceofsocialmovementmediacoverageasanobjectof
research.JamesHalloran,PhilipElliottandGrahamMurdocksDemonstrationand
Communication:ACaseStudy(1970)standsasthefirstclassiccasestudyof
mainstreammediacoverageofasocialmovement.Thisworkdirectsitsfocus
towardananti-VietnamWardemonstrationthattookplaceinLondon,Englandon
27October1968.Theworkisstructuredwithadetaileddescriptionofthemarch
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placedfirst,followedbyananalysisofthenewsgatheringprocess,andfinallya
surveyofreadersandviewersreactions.Anambitiousstudy,itservesasthe
longestworkcentredonasingledemonstrationobservedinthisliteraturereview.
Halloranetal.(1970)foundthatmediacoverageoftheprotest
decontextualizedtheeventfrombeingastatementaboutAmericanforeignpolicy
towardVietnam,andinsteadportrayedtheprotestasaneventunconnectedtoa
broadercause.Accordingtothestudy,theonlynewspapertocharacterizethe
demonstrationasbeingabouttheUnitedStatespolicyinVietnamwasasocialist
newspapercalledtheMorningStar(Halloranet.al.1970:141).Asidefrom
demonstratingthatthemarchwasframedasasingleeventandnotpartofalarger
issue,Halloranetal.alsoestablishthatmediaoutletscoveredthepeacefulprotest
throughanangleofviolence(Halloranetal.1970;Cottle2008).Theynotethat
coverageofabreakawayincidentwhereasmallgroupofprotestersmarchedto
GrosvenorSquareandattemptedtobreakthroughpolicecordonswascrystalized
intoastoryofunqualified,intentionalviolence,whilethestoryofthemainmarch,
whichhadruncountertoexpectations,wasreportedasapeacefuloccasionbutwith
anundercurrentofexpectationswhichexpectedhiddenviolence(Halloranetal.
1970:215).GivenwhatisfoundlaterinworksbyGitlin(1980),Poell&Borra
(2011),andVeneti,Poulakidakos,&Kostas(2012),itisnotablethatHalloranetal.
(1970)arethefirsttoidentifythemainstreammediapracticeofframing
demonstrationcoveragethroughalensofviolence.
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ToddGitlinsTheWholeWorldIsWatching:MassMediaintheMakingand
UnmakingoftheNewLeft(1980)isarelativelymorerecentstudythatexaminesthe
relationshipbetweenmassmediaandtheStudentsforaDemocraticSociety(SDS),
anAmericanstudentmovement.Theworkisdividedintothreeparts,withthefirst
tacklingGitlinsdayswiththeSDS,thesecondhighlightingtheimportanceofmedia
inmakingorbreakingamovement,andthethirddealingmorebroadlywith
theoriesofthenews,hegemonyasaprocessandselectedsocialmovementsofthe
Seventies.Gitlin(1980)notesthatmediacoveringSDSdemonstrationsusedseveral
framingdevices.Theseframingdevicesarefirstlistedas:trivialization,polarization,
emphasisoninternaldissention,marginalization,disparagementbynumbers,and
disparagementofthemovementseffectiveness.Hesaysthatasthemovement
turnedtoincreasinglymilitanttactics,newframingdeviceswereaddedby
mainstreamreportstothegrouplistedabove:relianceonstatementsby
governmentofficialsandotherauthorities,emphasisonthepresenceof
Communists,emphasisonthecarryingofVietCongflags,emphasisonviolencein
demonstrations,delegitimizinguseofquotationmarksaroundtermslikepeace
march,andconsiderableattentiontoright-wingoppositiontothemovement
(Gitlin1980:27).
Theseframingdevicesareimportanttonoteinthispaper,giventhatmore
thanthirtyyearsafterTheWholeWorldIsWatchingwaspublishedthereisstill,
amongotherthings,anemphasisonviolenceindemonstrations.Gitlin(1980)also
arguesthat,baseduponhiscasestudies,ademonstrationistreatedasapotential
oractualdisruptionoflegitimateorder,notasastatementabouttheworld.
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Consequently,thistreatmentdivertsmediaattentionawayfromcriticaltreatment
oftheinstitutional,systemic,andeverydayworkingsofpropertyandtheState
(Gitlin1980:271).AlongsideDemonstrationandCommunication(1970),TheWhole
WorldIsWatching(1980)iscertainlyoneofthemosthistoricallysignificant
publicationswithregardtothesubjectmatterofthispaper.Indeed,twoofthe
workstobereviewedciteDemonstrationandCommunication(1970)andTheWhole
WorldIsWatching(1980)asclassicstudieswithregardtomassmediacoverageof
protests(Cottle2008:855;Poell&Borra2011:3).
WhySocialMovementsNeedNewMedia
Originallypublishedin1997,ManuelCastellsThePowerofIdentityisafar-
reachingstudythatrangesfromCastellsconceptualizationofthenetworksociety
tosocialmovementsandsocialchange.Citedfrequentlyinacademicliterature,
Castells(2010)providesananalyticalframeworkwithinwhichtounderstandthe
constructionofidentity(Castells2010).Updatedin2010,thisworkcoversmany
differenttypesofsocialmovement,stretchingfromtheanti-globalizationmovement
toMexicosZapatistas.
Castellsprovideshisowndefinitionofsocialmovementsanddiscusseshow
politicalcommunicationonlyexistswithinthespaceofthemedia(Castells2010).
ForCastells(2010),therearethreecriticalpointsessentialtounderstandingsocial
movements.First,socialmovementsshouldbeunderstoodasbeingwhattheysay
theyare(Castells2010:73).Second,socialmovementsmaybesocially
conservative,sociallyrevolutionary,orboth,ornone(Castells2010:73).Third,he
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characterizessocialmovementsintermsfirstcoinedbyAlainTouraine.Touraine
definessocialmovementsbythreeprinciples:themovementsidentity,the
movementsadversary,andthemovementsvisionorsocialmodel,whichIcall
societalgoal(citedinCastells2010:74).
However,itisCastells(2010)dialogueaboutnewmediathatismost
pertinenttothisstudy.Hemakesitclearthatduetothedramaticallyincreased
pervasivenessofthenewmedia,politicalcommunicationandinformationare
essentiallycapturedinthespaceofthemedia.Hegoesontosay,outsideofthe
mediaspherethereisonlypoliticalmarginality(Castells2010:370).Assuch,his
workprovidesbackingtotheideathatsocialmovementsneedtousenewmedia.
IndymediaJournalism:ARadicalWayofMaking,SelectingandSharingViews?
bySaraPlatonandMarkDeuze(2003)informsthisstudybyprovidingananalysis
ofadominantpre-socialmediaplatformforalternativejournalism,Indymedia.
Duringitseraofdominance,Indymedia,adecentralized,democraticnetworkof
alternativemediaoutletsallowedactiviststocrowdsourcereportsandsharethem
primarilyonline(Platon&Deuze2003).Indymediaaroseintheaftermathofthe
1999SeattleprotestsagainsttheWorldTradeOrganization,buildinguponthe
developmentofanIndependentMediaCentre(IMC)developedinNovember1999
tocovertheSeattleprotests.Itconsistedof150centresindozensofcountriesatits
height,andmoreorlessceasedNorthAmericanoperationsin2006(Uzelman2011:
283).Theirarticleseekstoanswerthequestionofwhethermainstreammediacan
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incorporatetheprinciplesandideasofIndymediasalternativemediamodel,and
theystatethattheanswertothisquestionis:no(Platon&Deuze2003).
Platon&Deuze(2003)wrotethisarticleatatimewhensocialmediahadyet
torisetoprominence,andsodonottouchonthissubject.However,theymakeit
clearthatalternativemediaareimportanttoactivistswithregardtoallowingthem
tonotfearthemedia,[butto]bethemedia(Platon&Deuze2003:350).In
retrospect,theiranalysisofIndymediapresentsthealternativeoutletasastepping-
stonetowardtheever-greaterdecentralizationanddemocratizationbroughtabout
bysocialmediaplatformssuchasTwitter.Theirworkisimportanttothisstudyasit
providesfurtherconfirmationofthefactthatalternativestomainstreammediaare
necessaryasfarasprotestreportingisconcerned.Furthermore,theirstudy
highlightsthefactthatacentralaimofIndymediawastoemphasizeissuesand
includevoicesnotfeaturedinmainstreamreporting(Poell&Borra2011:5).Social
mediaprovideamoreefficientmethodofachievingthisaim,duetoalternative
mediafeaturinganinherentlackofeditorialgatekeeping.However,Platon&Deuze
(2003)helptoexplainactivistsuseofnewmediaintheyearsimmediately
precedingtheemergenceofTwitter.
Publishedin2004,Cyberprotest:NewMedia,CitizensandSocialMovements
editedbyWimvandeDonk,BrianD.Loader,PaulG.Nixon,andDieterRuchtisa
compilationofessaysaboutthewaysinwhichsocialmovementsarechangingtheir
mediapracticestoadaptalongwithanalteringmedialandscape.Thechaptersmost
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relevanttothisstudyaretheonesauthoredby(inorderofappearance)Dieter
Rucht,SteveWright,W.LanceBennett,andPetervanAelstandStefaanWalgrave.
DieterRucht(2004)examinessocialmovementsfromtheSixtiesupto2004,
andmakesplainthatamovementthatdoesnotmakeitintothemediaisnon-
existent(Rucht2004:25).Thoughhegoesontoexplainthatamovementwillbe
knowntoparticipantsandby-standers,amovementthatdoesnotgainmedia
coverageisnotknowntowidersociety.Ruchtstatesthat,inturn,themediadeal
withsocialmovementsinvariousways.Theycanignorethem,dealwiththem
proactivelyandeagerly,ortheycandownplaythebigsocial,economic,orpolitical
pictureinfavourofthehumantrialsandtriumphsthatsitatthesurfaceofevents
(Rucht2004:25).ThisfinalpointechoeswhatauthorssuchasHalloranetal.(1970)
andGitlin(1980)sayabouthowmainstreammediacoverageofsocialmovements
decontextualizeprotestsfrombeingapartofalargercausetobeingunique,often-
violentspectacles.
Hisobservationssupporttheideathatsocialmovementsneednewmedia.
Whenitisnotpossibleforsocialmovementstogainfavourablecoveragein
mainstreammedia,itmakessenseforthemtoreportontheirownactivitiesoruse
analternativeplatformsuchasIndymedia.AshighlightedinPoell&Borra(2011),
RuchtindicatesthatalthoughmovementssuchasGreenpeaceareoftensuccessfulat
gainingmediacoverage,theystrugglewithsecuringlegitimacy(citedinPoell&
Borra2011:4).Thishasalottodowithhowprotestgroupsgainmediaattention,
whichis,interalia,throughconflict,spectacle,andnewness(citedinPoell&Borra
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2011:4).Rucht(2004)informsthispaperbyreinforcingthenotionthat
mainstreammediahavevariousframesthroughwhichtheycoversocialmovements,
suchasthroughaframeofconflictorviolence.AlthoughRuchtsaysthatsocial
movementsshouldnotignoreestablishedmassmediaasasoundingboardor
potentialally,heconcludesbystatingthatsocialmovementscannotrelyonthese
outlets(Rucht2004).
SteveWright(2004)investigateshowthen-currentsocialmovementswere
utilizinginformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs).Hisworkisof
particularrelevancetoastudyinvolvingananti-capitalistmovement,andhe
uncoversaseriesofquestionsthatmayleadtofurtherinquiry(Wright2004:80).
Wright(2004)suppliessomeinsightintotheusefulnessofIndymediatoactivists,
especiallyinitsearlyyears.AsdealtwithinPlaton&Deuze(2003),heprovides
backgroundinformationontheoriginsofIndymediaaspartoftheSeattleWTO
protests,andabouthowthisalternativemediaplatformfacilitatedacrowdsourcing
ofmaterialratherthanatop-downeditorialapproach(Wright2004:73).Notonly
doesWright(2004)demonstratethataworkcanbeaboutuncoveringfurther
questionsratherthandiscoveringanswers,buthelendsfurthersupporttothe
notionthatsocialmovementsneednewmedia.Itshouldbenoted,however,thathe
makesthedistinctionthatmovementshavebeenmostsuccessfulbycombininguse
ofICTsoldandnewtheInternet,mobilephonesandmovementalignedradio
stations(Wright2004:81).ItisusefulforthispapertoacknowledgeWrights
(2004)points,andnottobeoverlydeterministicabouttheroleofTwitterinthe
OccupyTorontomovement.
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PeterVanAelstandStefaanWalgrave(2004)investigate,asthetitleoftheir
chapterexplains,theroleoftheinternetinshapingtheanti-globalization
movement.Specifically,theylooktomapthecontributionofanti-globalization
websitestotheformationofcollectiveidentity,actualmobilization,andanetwork
oforganizations(VanAelst&Walgrave2004:87).Keytotheargumentthatthis
paperistryingtomake,VanAelstandWalgravestatethatnewmediaoffernew
opportunitiesforinternationalcollectiveaction(VanAelst&Walgrave2004:87).
Theyalsoofferaspecificdefinitionofwhattheymeanbysocialmovement,which
differssomewhatfromothersofferedinpublicationsofasimilarnature.
ForVanAelstandWalgrave,asocialmovementmustfeaturefourelements:
(1)anetworkoforganizations,(2)onthebasisofasharedcollectiveidentity,(3)
mobilizingpeopletojoin,mostlyunconventionalactions,(4)toobtainsocialor
politicalgoals(VanAelst&Walgrave2004:88).Theyanalyze17anti-globalization
websitesfromMarch-May2001,anddeterminethatinthisinstance,thewebsites
appearedtoconstitutetheirownsocialmovement,accordingtothegivendefinition.
However,theyconcludebymakingthecleardistinctionthatalthoughnewmedia
arefacilitatingtheglobalprotestsandsocialmovementsthatcounterglobalization,
thesemovementsmayhaveoccurredwithouttheexistenceoftheweboremail
(VanAelst&Walgrave2004:105).Whatisclearisthatnewmediaareatthevery
leastsupplementingtraditionalformsofprotest.
W.LanceBennett(2004)discussestheroleoftheinternetandotherformsof
digitalmediainwhathereferstoasanewglobalactivism.Similartoother
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authorsreviewedhere,hereferstotheSeattleWTOprotestsasatouchstoneforthe
then-newanti-globalizationmovement,butheismoreoptimisticthanWright
(2004)whenmakinghisestimationthatthecurrentorganizationalweaknessesof
Internetmobilizationmaybecomeacoreresourceforthegrowthofnewglobal
publics(Bennett2004:128).Hismainargumentisthatsocialjusticeactivism,in
theerafollowingtheSeattleprotests,isdifferentinitsglobalscale,networked
complexity,opennesstodiversepoliticalidentities,andcapacitytosacrifice
ideologicalintegrationforpragmaticpoliticalgain(Bennett2004:109).Although
BennettfocusesontheimportanceofIndymedia,hemakesexplicitreferencetothe
factthatpersonaldigitalmediaareimportanttotheseactivists(Bennett2004:
109).Hegoesontoexplorewhetherdigitalcommunicationnetworksare
advantagingwhathetermsresource-poorplayers,suchassocialmovements,and
alsodrawsuponthetheoryofManuelCastellstoexplorethesocialcontextsof
internet-basedactivism(Bennett2004).
Bennettsworkisimportanttothisresearchinanumberofways,buttostart,
itshouldbenotedthatheidentifiedthefactthatmodern-dayactivistcampaignsare
moreprotractedandlesscentrallycontrolled,duetothethen-emergingpatternsof
globalactivistcommunication(Bennett2004:115).AlthoughBennett(2004)made
thispointsevenyearsbeforetheemergenceoftheOccupymovement,hecleverly
drawsattentiontothetrendofnewmediaenablinglonger-termsocialmovements.
Additionally,henoteshowcontemporary,looselylinkednetworksareideologically
thin(Bennett2004:118).Hegivestheexampleofthepermanentanti-Microsoft
campaign,whereconservativeUnitedStatesSenatorOrrinHatchandconsumer
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activistRalphNaderfindthemselvespartofthesamemovement.Essentially,the
looseconnectionsfacilitatedbynewmediaenableabroadbaseofsupportfora
varietyofissuesinsuchawaythatwasnotpreviouslypossible.
Bennettconcludesbyexplainingthatalthoughthesenewcommunication-
basedpoliticsaredurable,theyarepronetoproblemsofcontrol,decision-making
andcollectiveidentity(Bennett2004:127).Healsogoesontosaythatresearchers
shouldnotanalyzethenewcommunication-basedpoliticsfromtheperspectiveof
particularorganizationsorissues,butrathershouldlookattheentirenetwork
(Bennett2004:128).However,thismayhavebeeneasiertodobeforethe
emergenceofFacebookandTwitter,wheretheamountofelectronicdataproduced
byentiremovementsisnotonlyvast,butalsocostlytoanalyze.Althoughthispaper
doesnotheedBennettslastpieceofadvice,itisneverthelesshelpfultonotethatat
leastonescholarhasrecommendedagainstexaminingaparticularorganizationas
opposedtowhathecallsanelectronicpublicsphere(Bennett2004:128).
ReferringtoCyberprotest:NewMedia,CitizensandSocialMovements(2004),
SimonCottles(2008)workreachesrelativelysimilarconclusionsasauthorssuchas
Bennett(2004),Rucht(2004),andVanAelst&Walgrave(2004).Hismainargument
isthatprotestsanddemonstrationstodayhavebecomereflexivelyconditionedby
theirpursuitofmediaattention,andneedtobeiftheyaretogettheirmessage
acrossandmobilizewidersupport(Cottle2008:853).Hegoesontosaythatwider
audiencesarenowprimarilyexposedtothepoliticsofprotestthroughnewsmedia,
andthroughexposuretothesewideraudiences,legitimacycanbepotentiallywon
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orlost(Cottle2008:854).Thatsocialmovementsrelyonmediacoveragefor
broaderexposureandthegarneringofpopularsupportisnotnew.Whatisnewis
thatpoliticshasbecomeincreasinglymediated,andthewayinwhichnewsmedia
frameprotestshascometobeintegraltothepoliticsofprotest(Cottle2008:854).
AccordingtoCottle,mediapoliticsregardingdemonstrationsandprotestshas
becomelessclearorpredictablethanintherecentpast(Cottle2008:854).Thisis
presumablyduetothefactthatdemonstrationshavebecomemainstream,andare
nolongerconfinedtoleft-wingconcernsandagendas(Cottle2008:854).
Cottle(2008)makesanimportantcontributiontothispaperinthathe
outlineshowmainstreammediacoverageofprotestanddemonstrationsis
changing.Althoughthisresearchdoesntnecessaryaimtoexaminemediacoverage
ofprotesters,itisneverthelessusefultoacknowledgethatthestruggleforpublic
recognitionandrepresentationthroughthestagingofdemonstrationsandprotests
isinextricablyboundupwiththestruggletocirculatemessagesandmeanings,and
thereforetoshapeandconditionnewsmediareporting(Cottle2008:867).Because
socialmediaareincreasinglyrisinginprominencenotonlyamongactivistsbut
reportersaswell,itonlymakessensethatTwitterandYouTubeareactivists
preferredplatformsofcommunication(Poell&Borra2011).
ThesecondworkofManuelCastellstobeexaminedhere,his2009work
CommunicationPowerprovidesathoroughlookattheroleofpowerinthenetwork
society.CommunicationPower(2009)canbeconsideredasuccessortoCastells
earlierThePowerofIdentity(2010),andthesecondinatrilogydealingverybroadly
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withtheinformationage.Averydensetheoreticalwork,itisimportantfirstto
explainwhatthisbookmeansbybothpowerandnetworksociety,asCastells
(2009)offersspecificdefinitionsofboth.
Bypower,Castellsisreferringtotherelationalcapacitythatenablesasocial
actortoinfluenceasymmetricallythedecisionsofothersocialactor(s)inwaysthat
favortheempoweredactorswill,interestsandvalues(Castells2009:10).Hegoes
ontoexplainthatpowerisexercisedbyeitherrealorthepossibilityofcoercion,
and/orbytheconstructionofmeaningonthebasisofthediscoursesthrough
whichsocialactorsguidetheiraction(Castells2009:10).Basically,Castells(2009)
issayingthatpowercanbeexercisedbothbyonesocialactoroveranother,aswell
asatadiscursivelevel.Anexampleofthisistheconstructionofaneoliberal
hegemonicdiscoursewithinwhichitisnotpossibletocommunicatepolitically
withoutadoptingthelanguageofneoliberalism(Phillips1998).Bynetworksociety,
Castellsisreferringtoasocietywhosesocialstructureismadearoundnetworks
activatedbymicroelectronics-based,digitallyprocessedinformationand
communicationtechnologies(Castells2009:24).Hegoesontosaythatthe
networksocietyisaglobalsociety,andthateverybodyisaffectedbytheprocesses
thattakeplaceintheglobalnetworksthatconstitutethesocialstructure,(Castells
2009:25)regardlessofthefactthatthemajorityofpeopleonthisplanetarestill
notincludedinthesenetworks.
Castells(2009)workwasnotselectedtoinformthisstudytheoretically,as
willbeoutlinedlateron,butitdoessupportthegeneralthemeofthissection,which
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istosaythatsocialmovementsneedtobeusingnewmedia.AccordingtoCastells,
thekeystrategicquestionofourageishowtoreachtheglobalfromthelocal,
throughnetworkingwithotherlocalitieshowtograssrootthespaceofflows
(Castells2009:52).Inthissense,newmediaverymuchfulfillthisstrategicaimof
socialmovements,inthattheyenableactiviststonetworkgloballywhilefocusing
onlocalissues.Totakethisonestepfurther,theOccupymovementcanbe
consideredtheembodimentofthistheory,duetoitbeingaglobalsocialmovement
enabledbysocialmediathatiscomprisedofhundredsoflocallybasednodes.
ToTweetorNottoTweet?
Thethirdcomponenttothisliteraturereviewwillexaminethetopicof
Twitter.Whileearliersectionshavelookedathowsocialmovementscommunicated
beforetheadventofsocialmediaandthetransitiontotheiruseofsocialmedia
respectively,thissectionfocusesontheiruseofTwitterasopposedtootherpopular
platformssuchasFacebookorYouTube.
danahboyd,ScottGolder,andGiladLotan(2010)discussvariousaspectsof
Twitter,butfocusprimarilyontheretweetcapability.Ratherthanseektoprove
ordisproveanyhypothesis,theyexplorehowtheretweetfunctionenablesusersto
beinaconversation(boydetal.2010:1).Theauthorsuserelativelylargerandom
samplesoftweets(between203,000and720,000percasestudy)to,intheirown
words,assessretweetingasapractice(boydetal.,2010:3).Theydeterminethat,by
rebroadcastingmessages,thosewhoretweetbecomepartofabroader
conversation(boydetal.2010:10).
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However,mostpertinenttothisstudy,boydetal.mapouthowTwitterin
generalenablesparticipantstoconversewithindividuals,groups,andthepublic
atlarge,sowhenconversationsemerge,theyareoftenexperiencedbybroader
audiencesthanjusttheinterlocutors(boydetal.2010:1).Thisistosaythatthe
authorsdiscussTwitterbeyonditsretweetcapability.Theyprovidesomekey
informationregardingthehistoryofTwitter,suchasthefactitwasfoundedin
early2006toenablepeopletoshareshorttextualmessagestweetswithothers
inthesystem(boydetal.2010:2).Thesystemlimitstweetstoalengthof140
charactersduetothesimplefactthatTwitterwasdesignedfortweetstobeshared
viaSMS(boydetal.2010:2).Accordingtotheauthors,Twittercombineselements
ofsocialnetworksitesandblogs,butwithafewnotabledifferencesConnections
aredirectedratherthanundirected,[and]participantscanlinktoothersandsee
theirtweets,buttheotheruserneednotreciprocate(boydetal.2010:2).They
alsolistotherimportantaspectsuniquetoTwitterasasocialmediaplatform,such
asthefactthatthereisnoabilitytocommentonindividualposts,andthefirstthing
usersseeuponlogginginisastreamoftweetspostedbythosethattheyfollow,
listedinreversechronologicalorder(boydetal.2010:2).Overall,theboydetal.
(2010)articleisusefulinthesensethatitprovidesathoroughdescriptionofthe
Twitterservice,andthatitdescribeshowconversationstakeplacewithinthat
service.
MeeyoungCha,HamedHaddadi,FabrcioBenevenuto,andKrishnaP.
Gummadi(2010)analyzeuserinfluenceinTwitter,asthetitleoftheirarticle
suggests.Specifically,Chaetal.analyzeinfluencepatternsbyusingalargeamount
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ofdatagatheredfromTwitter,[and]comparethreedifferentmeasuresofinfluence:
indegree,retweets,andmentions(Chaetal.2010:1).Indegreeisthenumberof
followersaparticularuserhas,retweetsmeanthenumberoftimesauserforwards
anotheruserstweet,andmentionsmeansthenumberoftimesausermentions
anotherusersname(Chaetal.2010:1).Chaetal.arguethatstudyinginfluence
patternscanhelpusbetterunderstandwhycertaintrendsorinnovationsare
adoptedfasterthanothers(Chaetal.2010:1).Theyoutlinetraditional
communicationtheorywithregardtothestudyofinfluence(namely,thata
minorityofusers,calledinfluentials,excelinpersuadingothers)(Rogers1962),and
analyzeuserinfluenceusingalargeamountofdatagatheredfromTwitter(Chaet
al.2010:1).Thedatasetconsistsof6,189,636usersand1,755,925,520tweets,and
Spearmansrankcorrelationcoefficientisusedtocomparethethreemeasuresof
userinfluence(Chaetal.2010:3).Finally,theydeterminethreekeythingsabout
theinfluenceofTwitterusers:1)indegreerepresentsauserspopularity,butisnot
relatedtootherimportantnotionsofinfluencesuchasretweetsandmentions;
2)retweetsaredrivenbythecontentvalueofatweet;and3)mentionsare
drivenbythenamevalueofauser(Chaetal.2010:8).Chaetal.(2010)have
brokengroundwithregardtounderstandingwhatisrequiredtosystematically
obtaininfluenceonTwitter.
Chaetal.s(2010)workcontributestothisstudyprimarilyinthatit
demonstrateswhatcanbedonequantitativelywithtweetdata,andthatitdiscusses
thequestionofmethodologyinrelationtosuchastudy.Aspreviouslydiscussed,
Chaetal.sstudyseekstomeasureuserinfluence,andsotheymakeavalue
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judgmentthatnormalizingtheirdatasetisnotappropriatefortheirneeds(Chaetal.
2010:4).Becausetheywanttodemonstratethatuserswiththehighestnumberof
retweetsweremoreinfluential,theydecidednottonormalizetheirdata,which
wouldhaveseenthemcondensetheirdatabyremovingredundancies(inthiscase,
retweetsbeingtheredundancies).
AsaresultofChaetal.s(2010)discussionofmethodology,Iwasableto
makeaninformeddecisionnottofactorinretweetswithregardtothecontent
analysis.Retweetswerentfactoredin,becausethecontentanalysissoughtto
determinepopularityofparticularthemesratherthantheinfluenceofindividual
users.Adiscussionregardingthesubjectofwhyretweetswerentcountedinthe
contentanalysisisoutlinedinthemethodologysectionofthispaper.
Anotherarticleimportanttothequantitativeaspectofthisstudy,Devin
Gaffneys#iranElection:QuantifyingOnlineActivism(2010)alsotakesanexplorative
approachtoitsprimaryquestion.Gaffneyhasasked,Canafinergranularitybe
achievedindirectlymeasuringtheimpactonpoliticsandsociety?(Gaffney2009:
1)andthenfocusedontheuseofTwitterbyactivistsfollowingthe2009Iran
election.Theauthorusedamethodologysimilartothatusedinthisstudy,inthathe
collectedtweetscontainingaparticularhashtag(inhiscase,#iranElection),and
storedthetweetanditsassociatedmetadata(time,user,numberoffriendsand
followers,statedlocation,etc.)(Gaffney2009:2).Datawascollectedusingacustom-
writtenpieceofsoftware,andintotal,766,263tweetsacross73,693userswere
collectedandstored(Gaffney2009:2).
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LikeChaetal.(2010),Gaffneyoptedtoanalyzeforinfluence,amongother
factorssuchashistogram-basedanalysisandlanguage-basedanalysis(i.e.,tag
clouds)(Gaffney2009:2).Ofparticularimportancetothisstudy,Gaffneyconcluded,
previousapproaches(tothestudyofonlineactivism)tendtoleantowards
predominantlyqualitativeanalysis,whichis,whileuseful,nottheonlyapproach
thatshouldbeused(Gaffney2009:7).Hesuggeststhatnewmethodologiesshould
beembracedbythosestudyingWeb2.0technology,andtellsusthatitispossibleto
confirminfluentialactors(Gaffney2009:7).WhilethemethodsusedbyGaffneyare
notdirectlyapplicablewithregardtothisownstudy,thefactthathehasanalyzeda
largetweetdatasetfocusingononlineactivismservestoinformthisstudyintwo
primaryways:1)Gaffneyencouragesresearcherstoconsideranalyzingsocial
mediadataquantitatively,and2)headdressestheissueofethicswithregardtothe
harvestingoftweets(Gaffney2009:7).Heinformsresearchersthatthereseemsto
besomecontroversyoverwhetherornotitisethicaltocollecttweetsand
associateduserinformation,and,chillingly,[o]nceregimesusedtorturetogetthis
kinddata;nowitsfreelyavailableonFacebook(Gaffney2009:7).Whilethislatter
aspectofthedebatesurroundingtheethicsofsocialmediadataharvestingisnot
applicabletothisstudy,itisneverthelessimportanttoconsidertherisksthatsucha
studyasGaffneys(2009)mayposewhendealingwithuserswholiveincountries
suchasIranthatmaypunishactivistsforchallengingthestatusquo.
Thesinglemostinfluentialarticleregardingthisstudy,ThomasPoelland
ErikBorrasTwitter,YouTube,andFlickrasPlatformsofAlternativeJournalism:The
SocialMediaAccountofthe2010TorontoG20Protests(2011)isalsothemost
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recentlypublishedarticletobereviewed.Theauthorsexaminetheappropriation
ofsocialmediaasplatformsofalternativejournalismbytheprotestersofthe2010
G20summitinToronto,Canada,anddosointhelightofthehistoryandtheoryof
alternativejournalism(Poell&Borra2011:1).Poell&Borra(2011)have
conductedthisexaminationintwooverarchingparts.Thefirstconsistsofan
analysisofwhethertheuseofTwitterandYouTubepermitalargenumberof
peopletosharetheirobservationsandpointsofview,andthesecondconsistsof
whetherthesocialmediaaccountsfocustheattentionontheprotestersissues,
insteadofonviolenceandspectacle(Poell&Borra2011:5).
AddressingthesetwoexaminationsintheordercoveredinPoell&Borras
(2011)study,Ishallstartbyunpackingwhattheauthorshavesaidabout
crowdsourcing.Poell&BorraidentifythatTwitteristhemostdemocraticformof
socialmedia,whencomparedwithFlickrandYouTube(Poell&Borra2011).Itis
alsomorecrowdsourcedthanolderformsofalternativeprotestreporting,notably
Indymedia(Poell&Borra2011).ThismeansthatTwitterappearstohaveopened
protestreportingtoarelativelylargenumberofuserswhencomparedto
Indymedia.Theauthorsnotethat,[d]uringthetwodaysoftheG20summiton26
and27June2010,whenthelargestproteststookplace,morethan800users
postedover3,000tweetsadaytagged#g20report(Poell&Borra2011:8).Users
onYouTubeandTwitterwieldedrelativelygreaterinfluencewithregardtothe
percentageofpostsmadebyindividualusers.Thisbeingsaid,theystillmakenoteof
thefactthat,includingTwitter,the20percentmostactiveusersonallthree
platformspostedover50percentofallreports(Poell&Borra2011:9).Tothe
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presentday,noalternativejournalisticmediumhasbeenabletosignificantly
crowdsourcereports,andPoell&Borra(2011)showthattodayscropofsocial
mediafarelittlebetterthanIndymedia.
Secondly,theauthorsseektoaddresstheissueofwhetherprotestersfocus
ontheirissuesratherthanviolenceandspectacle.Analyzing11,556tweets,222
videos,and3,338photoscontainingthehashtag#g20report,Poell&Borracoded
theirdatasetandfoundthatthethe#g20reportaccountwasprimarilyaboutpolice
activity(Poell&Borra2011:11).Theydifferentiatebetweentopoutlinks(URLs
containedintweets)andretweets,andfindsimilar,albeitnotidentical,results
(Poell&Borra2011:11).Acrosseachoftheplatformsstudied,protestersfocused
overwhelminglyonpoliceactivities,andasaresultofthesefindings,itisreasonable
toexpectsimilarfindingsinthisstudy.
Theauthorshaveidentifiedthatthereportingofprotestersonsocialmedia
mirror[ed]often-criticizedmainstreamprotestreportingpractices,(Poell&Borra
2011:1)suggestingthatprotestersmayhavecomefullcirclefromthedaysofthe
protestsexaminedbyHalloranetal.(1970),andinthiscase,havefocusedonan
eventratherthantheissuesbeingbroughttolightbytheprotestersthemselves.
Indeed,asPoell&Borraconclude,theattentionisdrawnawayfromtheoriginal
issuesatstakeintheprotestsasaresultofpoliceviolencebeingemphasizedby
protestersinthesocialmediaaccount(Poell&Borra2011:15).Thisstudyis
heavilyindebtedtothatofPoell&Borraduetothefactthat,followingthis
conclusion,theyquestionwhethersocialmedia,suchasTwitterandYouTube,
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shouldbethemainplatformstofacilitate[alternative]reportingasactivistsare
increasinglyturningtothesemediaastheirpreferredplatformsofcommunication
(Poell&Borra2011:15).
Thenextlogicalstepistoverifywhetherprotestersareindeeddistracting
fromtheirownmessagebypayingtoomuchattentiontopoliceandviolence,and
usefultothepurposesofthisstudy,anotherlargescaleprotesthappenedtotake
placeoneyearlaterinthesamelocation.ThankstoPoell&Borra(2011),weknow
thatTwitterisbestabletofacilitatethecrowdsourcingofreportingamongthe
currentgenerationofsocialmedia,andsoitmakessensetodrawfromtheirstudy
theideatoisolateTwitterasthesoleresearchsubjectinafuturestudy.Thisis
becausetheprotestersthemselvesareinterestedincrowdsourcingtheirreports,in
anefforttoreversetheperceivedbiasofmainstreammediatowardfocusingon
protestsasapotentialoractualdisruptionoflegitimateorder,notasastatement
abouttheworld(Gitlin1980:271).AsPoell&Borraoutline,mediacoverageis
divertedawayfromcriticaltreatmentoftheinstitutional,systemic,andeveryday
workingsofpropertyandthestate(Poell&Borra2011:3),andthisisdueto
mainstreamjournalismsphilosophyofobjectivityandimpartiality,whichleadsto
astrongfocusontheeventitself(Gitlin1980:271;Halloranetal.1970:302).To
takethisonestepfurther,violencetendstobecomeacentralthemein
demonstrationreportingandprotestissuesdownplayedoroverlooked,duetoits
highvisibilityinrelationtoanevent(Poell&Borra2011:4).
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Thisliteraturereviewhasexaminedworksrelevanttothisstudyinthree
parts.Bynavigatingthroughworksthatwereintegraltounderstandingwhysocial
movementsneedalternativemedia,toliteraturedealingwithwhysocial
movementsneedtoadoptnewmedia,throughtoworksexaminingspecificallythe
useofTwitterbysocialmovementactivists,theupcomingcasestudyofOccupy
Torontohasbeenplacedwithinarecenthistoricalcontextdatingbacktotheanti-
VietnamWarmovementof1968.InChapter2,thetheorynecessarytoprovidean
understandingofOccupyTorontoasasocialmovement,aswellasactivistsuseof
Twitterasalternativemedia,willbeexamined.
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Chapter2:TheoreticalFramework
TheBuildingBlocksforaModernSocialMovement
InChapter1,itwasdemonstratedthatsocialmovementactivistsinitially
wentfromfirstrecognizingabiasinmainstreamnewsreportingcirca1968(namely,
followingtheanti-VietnamWarprotests),toadoptingnewmediacirca1999
(namely,duringandfollowingtheSeattleWTOprotests),tohowtheycurrentlyuse
Twitterasalternativemedia(namely,duringthe2011Occupyprotests).
Itisimportanttoprovideanoverviewofbothalternativemediaandsocial
movementtheory,especiallyduetoalternativemediahavingarisenalongsidesocial
movements.Socialmovementshaveexistedforfarlongerthanhaveclaimsofbiasin
mainstreammedia,butsinceatleast1968(Halloranetal.1970;Gitlin1980),social
movementactivistshaverecognizedthatthewayinwhichtheyhavebeenframedin
mainstreamnewscoveragehasnotbeenbalanced(Poell&Borra2011).Asaresult,
activistsstartedtoturntowardalternativemethodsofmediaproductionsuchas
zines(Atton2002)andthewebsiteIndymedia(Platon&Deuze2003;Carroll&
Hackett2006;Downing2008;Castells2009;Castells2010;Poell&Borra2011).
AlternativeMedia
AccordingtoalternativemediascholarsRichardAbelandChrisAtton,there
isnosingledefinitionofthetermalternativemedia(Abel1996;Atton2002).
However,Atton(2002)doesgotogreatlengthstoprovideatheoreticaland
methodologicalframeworkforalternativemedia,aswellasprovidecasestudiesof
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mediathatfithisbroaddefinition(theseareprimarilyzines,whichthemselvesgrew
outoflate-1970sfanzines).AlthoughAttonsAlternativeMediawaspublishedin
2002,beforetheadventofsocialmedia,itisstillausefultoolinthatitprovidesa
thoroughanalysisofthehistoryandtheoryunderpinningalternativemedia.
AnoverviewofAttonsbooktellsusthatalternativemediahaveacomplex
andrichhistory,datingbackatleasttothesecondhalfofthe1800s(Atton2002).
Becauseofthebroadnessofthetermalternativemedia,onecanconsider1800s
amateurjournalism,late1920ssciencefictionmagazines,andAdbustersmagazine
allexamplesofalternativemedia.ThisisbecauseallfitAttonsoverarching
typology,whichisasfollows:
1. Content(politicallyradical,socially/culturallyradical);newsvalues;2. Formgraphics,visuallanguage;varietiesofpresentationandbinding;
aesthetics;3. Reprographicinnovations/adaptationsuseofmimeographs,IBM
typesetting,offsetlitho,photocopiers;4. Distributiveuse(Atton1999)alternativesitesfordistribution,
clandestine/invisibledistributionnetworks,anti-copyright;5. Transformedsocialrelations,rolesandresponsibilitiesreader-writers,
collectiveorganization,de-professionalizationofe.g.,journalism,printing,publishing;
6. Transformedcommunicationprocesseshorizontallinkages,networks.(Atton2002:27)
Atton(2002)waswritingatatimewhensocialmediahadyettoemerge,and
thealternativemedialandscapewasdominatedbythelikesofIndymediaandzines
(zinesbeingprintedonpaper,ratherthanprimarilydisseminatedelectronically).
However,histypologystillprovidesausefulmodelforunderstandingactivistsuse
ofTwitterasalternativemediainthatthecontent,visuallanguage(whenimages
appear),clandestine/invisibledistributionnetworks(asmanyuserschosetouse
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pseudonyms),transformedsocialrelations(nearlyallcontributorstothe
conversationappeartohavebeenamateursratherthanprofessionaljournalists,
andtheywerecertainlyreader-writersastheyfrequentlyrespondedtoother
tweets),andhorizontallinkages(theOccupymovementwasinfamousforitslackof
leadership,andOccupyTorontowasnodifferent)allpointtoitbeinganexampleof
alternativemediawhenusedbyactivists.Inspiteofbeingtenyearsoldatthetime
ofthispaperswriting,Attons(2002)typologyofalternativemediaisstillthemost
popular,anditremainsrelevantwithregardtoprovidingatheoretical
underpinningforbeginningtounderstandtheOccupyTorontoactivistsuseof
Twitter.
Attonstypologyofalternativemediaisitselfgroundedtheoreticallyinthe
workofJohnDowning,whodrewuponanarchistphilosophytohelpexplainwhatis
meantbyalternative(Downing1984;Atton2002).Downing(1984)developedhis
theoriesduringtheColdWar,atimewhencommunistcountrieswerehometo
mediaeverybitashierarchical,limitingandboundbyauthorityasarethemass
mediaofcapitalism(Atton2002:20).Hearguedinfavourofarevolutionary
socialistmedia,separatefromeithercapitalistorcommunistmassmedia(Downing
1984).Downings(1984)owntypologyofalternativemedia(althoughhecallsit
radicalmedia)doesnotemphasizetheroleofcontent,andheprivileges
organizationandprocessoverproduct(Atton2002).Histypologyofalternative
mediaisasfollows:
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1. Theimportanceofencouragingcontributionsfromasmanyinterestedpartiesaspossible,inordertoemphasizethemultiplerealitiesofsociallife(oppression,politicalcultures,economicsituations);
2. Thatradicalmedia,whiletheymaybepartisan,shouldneverbecomeatoolofpartyorintelligentsia;
3. Thatradicalmediaattheirmostcreativeandsociallysignificantprivilegemovementsoverinstitutions;4. Thatwithintheorganizationofradicalmediathereappearsanemphasison
prefigurativepolitics.(Downing1984:17)
Atfirstglance,Downings(1984)typologyappearstosharelittlewiththatof
Atton(2002).However,onecannotexamineDownings(1984)theorywithout
placingitwithinabroaderhistoricalcontext.AsAttonhimselfnotes,Downingwas
writingbeforetheradicaltransformationoftheCommunistcountriesafter1989
andhisargumentsagainstthePartyandtheStatearelessurgenttoday(Atton
2002:20).PriortotheendoftheColdWar,itmadefargreatersensetofocuson
alternativestoparty-controlledstatemediacompaniesthanitdoestoday,although
Downings(1984)typologymaylikelyfindcontemporaryutilityinmodern-day
Chinaandothersingle-partystates.
Indeed,thefirstandthirdpointsareasrelevanttodayastheywerein1984.
WhenusedbyOccupyTorontoactivists,Twitterencouragedcontributionsfromas
manyinterestedpartiesaspossible(whethertheywerefororagainstthe
movement),andprivilegedthemovementoverinstitutions(newsorganizationsand
otherofficialsourceswerefaroutnumberedbyactivistsandotherinterested
parties).AttonalsonotesthatDowning(1984)failedtoexaminealternativemedia
predatingthe1960sandthatheignoredzineculture,butAttonhimselfignores
Indymediaandmentionsthetermnewmediaonlyonce(althoughhedoes
dedicatehisfinalchaptertoinformationandcommunicationtechnologiesand
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alternativemedia)(Atton2002:133).Itstandstoreasonthatitisanearimpossible
taskforanyworktoaddressallaspectsofalternativemedia,giventhatwhatmakes
amediumalternativewhollydependsonthemainstreammediaandpoliticsofthe
day.JustastheRussiansamizdatwaspopularatthetimeofDownings(1984)
work,andthezinewaspopularatthetimeofAttons(2002)work,Twitteriswhat
ispopularatthetimeofthiswork.
Inthisparticularcase,Twittercanbeconsideredanalternativemedium
whenusedbyOccupyTorontoactivists.Justasmagazinesarenotinherently
alternative,zinesareduetotheircontent,form,etc.ActivistuseofTwitter
qualifiesasalternativemediaforsimilarreasons.Aslistedabove,activistuseof
Twitterqualifiesduetoitscontent,visuallanguage,clandestine/invisible
distributionnetworks,transformedsocialrelations,andhorizontallinkages.
ItwillbeusefultoknowexactlyhowOccupyTorontoactivistsuseofTwitter
qualifiedthemediumasanexampleofalternativemediausingAttons(2002)
typologyofalternativeandradicalmedia,andsoeachpointwillbeexaminedin
greaterdetail.First,thecontentisradicalinanumberofways.Agreaternumberof
specificexampleswillbegivenintheproceedinganalysis,butcommentssuchas
OccupyBayStreet-NotAfghanistan!-Jointheanti-warcontingent-
http://t.co/EUGcWlXl#occupytoronto(CanadianPeace2011)andSorryforthe
Inconvenience,We'reTryingtoChangetheWorld#occTO#occupy(#occTO
2011a)providetwoexamplesoftweetsthatpresentcontentseekingtochallenge
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mainstreampoliticalthought(whetherbroadlyasinthelattercase,orchallenging
somethingasspecificasCanadasforeignpolicyasintheformer).
ThenextwayinwhichactivistuseofTwittercanbeconsideredanexample
ofalternativemediaisinhowOccupyTorontoactivistsusedittodisseminate
imagescriticalofMayorRobFord,thepolice,publicpolicy,etc.Anexampleofthis,
@OccupyTorontoPicturesfromOccupyTorontohttp://t.co/FXIHeTrOonFlickr
plzshare!#ows#occupytoronto#oto#occupycanada#occupy,(MacPherson
2011)containsalinktoMs.MacPhersonsFlickrphotoset,itselfcontainingcritical
images(onefeaturesaphotooftwowomen,onebeingformerparliamentarypage
BrigetteDePape,holdingastopsignthatreadsStopHarper).
Third,itcanbesaidthatclandestine/invisibledistributionnetworksexisted
onTwitteramongsomeOccupyTorontoactivists.Chiefamongthese,ofcourse,
wouldbetheofficialOccupyTorontoaccountitself(#occTO),whichnever
attributeditspoststoaparticularperson.Thesamecanbesaidofthenumerous
oppositiontrolls,orthosewhopostedinflammatorymessagesinanattemptto
provokeactivists.ForemostamongthesewastheaccountSattva01(thename
associatedwiththisaccount,SattvaNamaste,cannotbeconfirmed).
ItfollowsthatuseofTwitterasamediumfacilitatedatransformationin
socialrelationsamongstOccupyTorontoactivists.Thisisbecauseinsteadofusing
mediathatrelyongatekeeperstodisseminateinformation(evenzineshaveeditors),
Twitterenabledallactiviststovoicetheiropinionsformassconsumption.Although
notallOccupyTorontoactivistswillhavebeenabletouseTwitter(namely,those
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withoutaccesstotheinternetorsmartphones),itenabledagreaternumberof
activiststohavetheirsaythandidtraditionalmassmedia,suchasnewspapers.
Furthermore,Twitterfacilitatedade-professionalizationofjournalismand
publishing(allactivistswereabletoposttweetsandreportonevents),asit
facilitatedreader-writersasopposedtoadistinctionbetweenproducerand
consumer.Itispossibletoprovetheexistenceofreader-writersduetothefactthat
manyusersrepliedtothetweetsofothers.Tonamebutoneexample,whenMeagan
ClaytontweetedthatMaybecopsarebeingpolitecuz[sic]THEYRE[sic]SUPPOSED
TOBE?Maybeppl[sic]arerunningawayfromyourcamerasb/cyou'recallingthem
violent?#OccTO,(Clayton2011)anaccountappearingtorepresentOccupy
Torontoreplied,@NotThatMegYouclearlyhaven'tseenthevideoofourpolice
attackingppl[sic]attheendofOhCanadaduring#g20haveyou?#Toronto#occTO
(#occTO2011b).
Fifthandlast,TwitterenabledOccupyTorontoactiviststoformhorizontal
linkagesandnetworksratherthantraditionalhierarchicalrelationships(i.e.,
betweeneditorandreporter).TheOccupymovementwasinfamouslynon-
hierarchical(Carlson2011),andTwitterallowsanyusertoposta140-character
tweettoanyone,fromanykindofdevice(Farhi2009).BecauseTwitterenabled
activiststocommunicateamongsteachotherandwiththewiderpublicwithoutthe
filterofaneditororothergatekeeper,itservedtoflattenhierarchiesandprovided
activistswithaplatformwithwhichtospeakoutsideoftherealmofmainstream
media.Noexampleofthisisnecessary,giventhatpresumably,alltweetswere
posteddirectlybythepersonincontrolofagivenaccount.
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AsidefromAttons(2002)importantwork,thereexistseveralothersthat
dealwithalternativemediatheoryorcriticismofmainstreammediamorebroadly.
NickCouldryandJamesCurranscompilationContestingMediaPower:Alternative
MediainaNetworkedWorld(2003a)isaprimeexampleoftheformer,andEdward
S.HermanandNoamChomskysManufacturingConsent:ThePoliticalEconomyof
MassMedia(2002)anexampleofthelatter.Indeed,Herman&Chomsky(2002)cite
Curranintheirwork,andCouldry&Currans(2003a)workmakesmentionof
Herman&Chomsky.Althoughtheseworksarenotaspertinenttothestudyathand
asisAttons(2002),theyhaveneverthelesswieldedgreatinfluenceoverthefieldof
alternativemediaandassuch,shouldnotbeoverlookedentirely.
Firstpublishedin1988,Herman&Chomskys(2002)workwasthefirstto
theorizeapropagandamodelthatexplainseditorialbiasinherentinmainstream
newsreporting.Attonhimselfaddressesthismodelinhisownwork,whenhe
examinestheroleplayedbyadvertisinginthemainstreampress(Atton2002:37).
Bennett(Couldry&Curran:2003a),too,addressesHerman&Chomsky(2002)in
Couldry&Currans(2003a)work.Hedoessowithregardtonotinghowthereisa
trendwithinmainstreammediaforcorporationstoshunsocialresponsibility
beyondprofitsforshareholders(Bennett2003:17),asarguedbyHerman&
Chomsky(2002)intheirfirstoffivepropagandafilters.
Possiblythemostoftencitedworkwithregardtoprovidingacritiqueof
mainstreammedia,ManufacturingConsent:ThePoliticalEconomyofMassMedia
(2002)appearstimeandagainastheoreticaljustificationforactivistsworking
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outsidetherealmofmainstreammedia.However,becausetheirworkdoesnot
addresssocialmedia,waswrittenbeforethatofAtton(2002),andgenerally
examinesaspectsofmediathatfalloutsideofthescopeofthisstudy,itisnot
necessarytoprovidefurtheranalysisoftheirwork.
Theotherworkrequiringmentionduetoitsimportanceinthefieldisthatof
Couldry&Curran(2003a).PublishedsoonafterAttonsAlternativeMedia,(2002)
theirworkisacompilationofessayswrittenbyavarietyofscholars,including
themselves.TheymakenoteoftheimportanceofManuelCastellsnetworksociety
theorytothefieldofalternativemedia,whichholdsthatmedianolongerhave
powerassuch,andthatinaspaceofacceleratedinformation,people,andfinance
flows,themediaportalisincreasinglyimportantforallsocialaction(something
thatOccupyTorontocanbecategorizedas)(Couldry&Curran2003b:7).
However,Couldry&Currans(2002a)workfocusesprimarilyonthe
questionofwhethermediastillholdspowerintheglobalnetworksociety,andless
onthespecificsofalternativemedia.ThisisnotunlikehowHerman&Chomskys
(2002)workanalyzesthepoliticaleconomyofmainstreammediaduringtheCold
War.Additionally,theythemselvesbasetheirowndefinitionofalternativemediaon
thatofAtton(2002)(Couldry&Curran2003b:7),andassuch,theirworkaddslittle
tothestudyathand.
SocialMovements
AccordingtoalternativemediascholarJohnDowning,socialmovementsare
variouslydefined,oftenhardtocategorize,andasaresultoftheir
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unconstitutionalqualitiesresistanttorigidtheorizing(Downing2008:43).
However,socialmovementscholarsCharlesTilly(2004)andSidneyG.Tarrow
(2011)havedonethebestjoboftheorizingsocialmovementssofar,andsotheir
workshavecontributedmostsignificantlytothisstudystheoreticalunderpinnings.
JohnD.H.Downing(2008)alsoprovidesausefulfoundationforprovidingalinkage
betweensocialmediaandsocialmovements,andassuch,isalsoexamined.Finally,
twoimportantworksbyDavidA.SnowandSarahA.Soule(2010),andManuel
Castells(1983)respectivelythatdidnotsignificantlyinformthisstudywillbe
addressed.Thisisbecauseofeithertheirinfluenceortheirrelevancetothisstudy,
andthustheirexclusionshallbejustified.
Havingwrittenonthesubjectsinceatleast1974(Tilly1974),CharlesTillys
SocialMovements,1768-2004(2004)ishelpfulinthatitprovidesacleartheoretical
groundforunderstandingOccupyTorontoasasocialmovement.Firstofall,Tilly
(2004)explainsthatGermansociologistLorenzvonSteinfirstintroducedtheterm
socialmovementintoscholarlydiscussionsin1850(citedinTilly2004),in
referencetoFrenchcommunistandsocialistmovements.Sincethattime,academic
notionsofthesocialmovementhaveevolvedfromtheideaofacontinuous,unitary
processbywhichthewholeworkingclassgainedself-consciousnessandpower"
(Tilly2004:5)tosomethingmorepoliticallyinclusive(vonSteinwasa
contemporaryofKarlMarx).Tillyexplainsthatthesocialmovementemergesfrom
aninnovative,consequentialsynthesisofthefollowingthreeelements(Tilly2004:
3):
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1. Asustained,organizedpubliceffortmakingcollectiveclaimsontargetaudiences(letuscallitacampaign);
2. Employmentofcombinationsfromamongthefollowingformsofpoliticalaction:creationofspecial-purposeassociationsandcoalitions,publicmeetings,solemnprocessions,vigils,rallies,demonstrations,petitiondrives,
statementstoandinpublicmedia,andpamphleteering(callthevariableensembleofperformancesthesocialmovementrepertoire);and
3. ParticipantsconcertedpublicrepresentationsofWUNC:worthiness,unity,numbers,andcommitmentonthepartofthemselvesand/ortheirconstituencies(callthemWUNCdisplays).(Tilly2004:3-4)
UsingTillys(2004)conceptualizationofthesocialmovement,itiseasyto
seehowOccupyTorontoandtheOccupymovementcanfitthisdescription.
Althoughthemovementsaimswerenotfocusedatalltimes,OccupyTorontodid
makeconsistentandsustainedcallsforgreatereconomicequality.Theyfamously
contrastedthewealthiest1%ofsocietywiththe99%theyclaimedtorepresent
(CBCNews2011a),aswellasgeneraloppositiontoausterityandcapitalism,andin
thecaseofOccupyToronto,CanadianPrimeMinisterStephenHarperandTorontos
MayorRobFord.Activistsargumentswerepresentedonline,inthepress,and
duringsit-ins(CBCNews2011a).Anexaminationoftweetsalonedemonstratesthat
claimswereindeedmadecollectivelyandpublicly,giventhattensofthousands
werepostedpublicly.
ComparingOccupyTorontowiththesecondcriterion,itisagainpossibleto
seehowitcanbeclassifiedasasocialmovement.Althoughthereappearstohave
beennoformalcoalitionbuildingduetoOccupyTorontoslackofleadership,the
movementhadthesupportofvariouslabourorganizationsincludingtheCanadian
AutoWorkers(Mackrael2011)andtheCanadianUnionofPublicEmployees
(Mackrael2011).Importantly,OccupyTorontowasonepartofabroader,
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American-centricOccupymovementthathadasignificantpresenceinatleastten
Canadiancities(OToole2011a)andothersworldwide.Activistsheldregularpublic
meetingsintheformofgeneralassembliesthattookplaceinSt.JamesParkand
elsewhere(Boesveld2011;CBCNews2011a;Fiorito2011).Theyalsoheldrallies
anddemonstrationsthroughoutthecity,includingatTorontocityhall(Living,
undeadtaketostreets,2011)andQueensPark(CBCNews2011c).Petitiondrives
wereheldbyoronbehalftheactivists(Elash2011),andhundredsofarticles
containingthephraseOccupyTorontoappeared.
ItisonthisthirdpointalonethatOccupyTorontodivergesfromthe
archetypalsocialmovement,asatfirstglance,itdidnotdemonstrateworthinessby
Tillys(2004)definition.First,however,letusexaminewhatTillymeansby
worthiness,unity,numbers,andcommitment:
1. Worthiness:soberdemeanor;neatclothing;presenceofclergy,dignitaries,andmotherswithchildren;
2. Unity:matchingbadges,headbands,banners,orcostumes;marchinginranks;singingandchanting;
3. Numbers:headcounts,signaturesonpetitions,messagesfromconstituents,fillingstreets;
4. Commitment:bravingbadweather;visibleparticipationbytheoldandhandicapped;resistancetorepression;ostentatioussacrifice,subscription,and/orbenefaction.(Tilly2004:4)
ActivistsdidmakeapointofmaintainingliteralsobrietyatSt.JamesPark,
andwell-knownCanadianpublicfigures(fulfillingthedignitariesrequirement)
suchasOliviaChow(Mackraeletal.2011),NaomiKlein(Khler&Ward2011),
GordonLightfoot(CBCNews2011e),andBobRae(Mackraeletal.2011)madean
appearance.TheycertainlyshowedunitybycampingtogetherinSt.JamesPark,
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dancingtogether,demonstratingtogether,andsingingtogether.ThepopularGuy
Fawkes(circa2005filmVforVendetta)maskalsoadornedmanyactivists,
althoughnotall.NumberswereattimesanissueforOccupyToronto,butactivists
didcirculatepetitions,andattempttofillstreets(withvaryingdegreesofsuccess).
Theirstrongestshowingcamewithregardingtotheircommitment,asthehardcore
ofactivistscampedoutinaparkregardlessofweather,andtheywereinclusiveof
allparticipants,includingtheoldandhandicapped(inadditiontothehomeless,
etc.).Tillys(2004)workmakesitpossibletosystematicallydefinehowOccupy
Torontoqualifiesasasocialmovement.Assuch,itisthemostusefultoolinhelping
tolayatheoreticalgroundworkforunderstandingwhatmakesOccupyTorontoa
socialmovement.
SidneyG.TarrowsPowerinMovement:SocialMovementsandContentious
Politics(2011)isreferencedintheworkofTilly(2004),whereitisstatedthatthis
bookthereforepicksupwhereTarrowssplendidsurveyofsocialmovements
leavesoff(Tilly2004:x).Inthissense,thetwoworkscanbeunderstoodas
companionpieces,andassuch,bothshouldbecoveredtoprovidethemost
completepicture.Additionally,Tarrowsworkhasbeenveryinfluentialinthefield
ofsocialmovementstudies,andprovidesfurtherhistoricalcontext,helpingtolocate
OccupyTorontoandtheOccupymovementmorebroadlywithinawiderhistorical
planestretchingbacktothe1780s(whensocialactionsbegantodemonstrate
characteristicsofthemodernsocialmovement)(Tarrow2011).
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Tarrowdefinesthesocialmovementashavingfourempiricalproperties:
collectivechallenge,commonpurpose,socialsolidarity,andsustainedinteraction
(Tarrow2011:9).Hemakesclearthathisdefinitiondoesnotdiffersignificantly
fromthatofTilly(2004),andsoTarrowsworkprovidesreinforcementforTillys
theoreticalconceptualizationofsocialmovements,ratherthananewframework
withwhichtounderstandthem(Tarrow2011).Nevertheless,contrastingOccupy
TorontowithTarrowsdefinitionofsocialmovementwillfurthersupportthe
claimthatOccupyTorontofitthedefinitionofsocialmovement,soletusunpack
whatTarrowmeantbyeachofhisfourempiricalproperties.
First,Tarrowexplainsthatcollectivechallengereferstothewayinwhich
movementscharacteristicallymountcontentiouschallengesthroughdisruptive
directactionagainstelites,authorities,othergroups,orculturalcodes(Tarrow
2011:9).OccupyTorontomountedchallengesagainstvariouselites(the1%,
Torontopublicofficials)andauthorities(by-lawofficers,police),anddisrupted
trafficthroughdemonstrationsandpublicuseofaparkwithitsencampment.As
such,OccupyTorontofulfillsthecriteriaforthisfirstproperty.
Second,commonpurposeisdescribedasreferringtohowsocialmovement
activistsjointogethertomakecommonclaimsagainstthosetheyoppose(Tarrow
2011).Onceagain,itiseasytoseehowOccupyTorontofitthisdefinition,inthat
activistssettledtogetherinonelocation(St.JamesPark)andsharedthemutual
aimsofcallingforgreatereconomicequality,etc.
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Third,socialmovementactivistscanbeconsideredtodemonstratesocial
solidaritywhentheyshowrecognitionoftheircommoninterests(Tarrow2011:
11).OccupyTorontofitthisdefinitionaswell,inthesensethatactivistsbanded
togethertocollectivelydemonstrate,andworkedtogetherintheformofgeneral
assemblies.Indeed,theverynotionofrepresentingthe99%showsthatactivists
recognizedacommoninterestinbelongingtoalowersocioeconomicclassthan
thosebelongingtothe1%.
Finally,sustainedinteractionreferstothewayinwhichitisonlyby
sustainingcollectiveactionagainstantagoniststhatacontentiousepisodebecomes
asocialmovement(Tarrow2011:12).Unfortunately,Tarrow(2011)doesnot
provideaspecificexampleofwhatconstitutesasustainedperiodoftime.
However,havingexistedforatleast41days,OccupyTorontoattemptedtofulfill
thisfinalcriterion(theywereforciblyremovedfromtheirencampmenton23
November2011,andhadearlierpledgedtoremainindefinitely)(OToole2011a).
InadditiontotheseminalworksofTarrow(2011)andTilly(2004),one
additionalscholarprovidedsignificanttheoreticalsupporttothisstudy,ifonlyin
onesense.JohnD.H.DowningsSocialMovementTheoriesandAlternativeMedia:An
EvaluationandCritique(2008)doesasitstitlesuggestsinthatitprovidesabrief
overviewoftheworksrelevanttoastudydealingwithalternativemediaandsocial
movements.Hisworkcoversallofthemajorworksuptothedateofpublication,
andthusprovidesfurtherconfirmationthattheworkscitedinthisstudyarethe
mostrelevantandsignificant.
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CitingscholarsrangingfromHalloranetal.(1970)andGitlin(1980)toAtton
(2002),Tarrow(2002)andTilly(2004),Downing(2008)providesathorough
analysisoftheacademiclandscaperegardingalternativemediaandsocial
movements.Accordingtohim,thetwomajorjournalsdealingprimarilywithsocial
movements(MobilizationandSocialMovementStudies)rarelyfocusonmedia
dimensionsofsocialmovements(Downing2008:41).AlthoughDowningsuggests
thatthereisthegreatestneedforconductingstudieswithafocusonthedeveloping
world(Downing2008),heneverthelessindicatesaneedforastudysuchasthisone,
giventhattoofewstudiesfocusontheuseofalternativemediabysocialmovements.
AsDowningstates,mediaresearchmakesitselflooksillyifitdoesnotforeground
[thecurrentsignificanceofsocialmovementsontheworldstage](Downing2008:
43).
AsidefromtheworksofDowning(2008),Tarrow(2002),andTilly(2004),
twoadditionalworksshallbebrieflydiscussedduetoeithertheirinfluence(Castells
1983)orrelevance(Snow&Soule2010).Althoughtheseworkswerenotreliedon
theoretically,theywillbeaddressedsoastoexplainwhytheotherswerechosen.
Firstpublishedin1983,ManuelCastellsTheCityandtheGrassroots:ACross-
CulturalTheoryofUrbanSocialMovements(1983)isbothinfluentialandoftencited
withinthefieldofsocialmovementstudies.Castellsoutlinesahistoryofurban
socialmovements,drawingalinefromtheComunidadesdeCastillaof1520-1522
throughthe1871ParisCommunetothe1960srevoltswithinAmericaninnercities
(Castells1983).Hecallssocialmovementstheultimatesourcesofdemocraticlife
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(Castells1983:4)andoffersadefinitionofwhathemeansbyurbansocial
movementbaseduponananalysisofMadridsCitizenMovement(Castells1983).
AninspectionofCastellstheoryofsocialmovementsuncoversatheorythat
appearstoprivilegerelativelysmallgroupssuchascounter-culturalsquattersto
middleclassneighbourhoodassociationsandshantytown[sic]defensegroups
(Castells1983:328).Thisisprimarilyduetothefactthat,firstandforemost,
Castellsstatesthatthefirstbasiccharacteristicofthesocialmovementisthatthey
arerelatedtothecity(orcommunity)(Castells1983:328).Hereliesheavilyupon
thetheoryofAlainTourainetoprovidehisdefinition,andstatesthatasocial
movementistheorganizedcollectiveactionbywhichaclass-actorstrugglesfor
thesocialdefinitionofhistoricityinagivenhistoricalensemble(citedinCastells
1983:301).HisdefinitionbareslittlesimilaritytothatofscholarssuchasTarrow
(2011)orTilly(2004)(althoughhecitesTillynofewerthanfivetimes),andisnot
particularlyhelpfulwhenitcomestohelpingtounderstandwhetherornotOccupy
Toronto(andtheOccupymovementmorebroadly)constitutesasocialmovement.
APrimeronSocialMovementsbyDavidA.SnowandSarahA.Soule(2010)
attemptstoprovideacomprehensivetheoreticaltoolkitwithwhichtoanalyze
socialmovements.Havingbeenpublishedrelativelyrecently,Snow&Soules(2010)
workhasnotyetbeengiventhetimenecessarytogainthelevelofinfluenceenjoyed
byTarrow(2011)andTilly(2004).Theirworkisparticularlyhelpfulinthatit
drawsfromawiderangeofdisciplines,andhighlightsthatsocialmovementsneed
notonlyemergefromtheleftofthepoliticalspectrum(indeed,theydemonstrate
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thatracisthatemovementsalsofitthedefinition)(Snow&Soule2010:49).
However,theirconceptualizationofsocialmovementsisextremelysimilartothatof
Tarrow(2011)andTilly(2004).
AccordingtoSnow&Soule(2010),socialmovementscanbeconceptualized
intermsoffivekeyelements:
1. Theyarechallengerstoordefendersofexistingstructuresorsystemsofauthority;
2. Theyarecollectiveratherthanindividualenterprises;3. Theyact,invaryingdegrees,outsideexistinginstitutionalororganizational
arrangements;4. Theyoperatewithsomedegreeoforganization;and5. Theytypicallydosowithsomedegreeofcontinuity.(Snow&Soule2010:6)
TheythemselvesacknowledgeasimilaritytothetheoriesofTarrow(2011)and
Tilly(McAdam,Tarrow,&Tilly2001),andciteaccordingly.Assuch,thetheoryof
Snow&Soule(2010)canbeseenasprovidingsupportforthetheoriesofTarrow
(2011)andTilly(2004)ratherthansignificantlybuildingupontheirtheories.
Providedthatthisisthecase,andthatTarrow(2011)andTilly(2004)havethusfar
provenmoreinfluential,Tarrow(2011)andTilly(2004)wererelieduponforthe
provisionofatheoreticalfoundationratherthanSnow&Soule(2010).
Inthissection,tworesearchquestionshavebeenanswered:a)DoesactivistuseofTwitteradheretotheprinciplesofalternativemedia;andb)
CanOccupyTorontobeconsideredasocialmovement?
Toanswerthefirstquestion,yes,activistuseofTwitterdoesadheretothe
principlesofalternativemedia.AsoutlinedbyChrisAtton(2002),activistuseof
Twitterfitsthetypologyofalternativemedia.Specifically,useofTwitterbyOccupy
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Torontoactivistsadherestotheprinciplesofalternativemediainthatthecontent,
visuallanguage(whenimagesappear),clandestine/invisibledistributionnetworks
(asmanyuserschosetousepseudonyms),transformedsocialrelations(nearlyall
contributorstotheconversationappeartohavebeenamateursratherthan
professionaljournalists,andtheywerecertainlyreader-writersastheyfrequently
respondedtoothertweets),andhorizontallinkages(theOccupymovementwas
infamousforitslackofleadership,andOccupyTorontowasnodifferent)allpointto
itbeinganexampleofalternativemediawhenusedbyOccupyTorontoactivists.
Thisisimportant,becauseastudyexaminingsocialmovementactivistsuseof
alternativemediaintheageofsocialmedia(Poell&Borra2011)mustensurethat
themediumbeingstudiedactuallyfitsthedefinitionofalternativemedia.
Toanswerthesecondquestion,yes,OccupyTorontocanbeconsidereda
socialmovement.ThisisbecauseitfitswithinCharlesTilly's(2004)
conceptualizationofasocialmovement.Specifically,OccupyTorontoadheredtothe
definitionofasocialmovementinthefollowingways:itmadeconsistentand
sustainedcallsforgreatereconomicequality,aswellasgeneraloppositionto
austerity,capitalism,andinthecaseofOccupyToronto,CanadianPrimeMinister
StephenHarperandTorontoMayorRobFord;OccupyTorontoactivistsemployed
severalofformsofpoliticalactionasoutlinedbyTilly(2004)inhis
conceptualizationofthesocialmovement;Althoughthereappearstohavebeenno
formalcoalitionbuildingduetoOccupyTorontoslackofleadership,themovement
hadthesupportofvariouslabourorganizationsincludingtheCanadianAuto
Workers(Mackrael2011)andCanadianUnionofPublicEmployees(Mackrael
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2011);Importantly,OccupyTorontowasonepar