What Would Gramsci Tweet?

Abstract

AbstractThe evolution of Web 2.0 user‐generated content has opened the door to new forms of collective action and social movement building. In asking if the benefits outweigh the risks, this paper brings Gramsci's theorization of activism into the twenty‐first century, where the newspaper has been replaced by social medial tools and the Organic Intellectual has gone virtual. Through the examples of #BlackLivesMatter, #IdleNoMore, and #MarchForOurLives, this paper argues that the digital age, despite limitations, has created unique opportunities for unprecedented social movement building. Activists are identified as key educators and passionate persuaders in these nonformal sites of learning, demonstrating how, through #hashtag activism, these virtual organic intellectuals are emerging to disrupt and challenge power in the digital age.