Online Movement Research Articles

From Activism to Collective Remembrance: The Transforming Rhetoric of Campaign Slogans in the #BringBackOurGirls Online Movement on Twitter

This paper explores the evolution of slogans and hashtags in the #BringBackOurGirls online campaign, seven years after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Northeastern Nigeria. It highlights the shift from an urgent call to activism to a broader focus on collective memory. An Aristotelian rhetorical analysis of tweets from 2015 to 2021 identifies two distinct rhetorical contexts in the memory activism of the BBOG campaigns. The first frame embodies hope, resilience, and recovery, exemplified by slogans like “Hope Endures,” “Never to be Forgotten,” and “Until All Are Free.” The second frame underscores accountability and responsibility, with slogans such as “No More Excuses” and “No More Delays.” Findings suggest that slogans in memory activism play a pivotal role in expressing the collective memory and shared experiences of a group within socio-political movements. They act as emotional principles, encapsulating community sentiments and aspirations. This shift fosters unity and purpose among members who collectively advocate for accountable governance. By linking personal narratives with collective history, these slogans ensure that the struggles and resilience of affected communities are remembered and preserved over time. This research ultimately deepens the understanding of how slogans and hashtags shape the legacy of online campaigns, underscoring the significance of memory in the ongoing pursuit of justice and accountability.

To Be Woke or Not to Be Woke? An Exploration of the Moral Foundations of Conservative Rejection of Brand Activism

Brand activism has become a powerful way to communicate a brand’s values and attract consumers who expect stances on divisive issues, but it can also lead to backlash. Thus, in the current study, we examine the #GoWokeGoBroke movement, an online-based media campaign that is gaining traction, to serve as a starting point for brands and advertisers to decide whether to engage in or avoid brand activism. Our findings, based on moral foundations theory, suggest that each moral foundation is associated with various metrics of online engagement, but not others. Brand activism choices that trigger responses that reference unfairness or undue authority are linked to higher retweet rates and a wider spread, which suggests that evoking those foundations may be particularly dangerous. This study offers implications for understanding the #GoWokeGoBroke movement, as well as for the study of the moral foundations of online movements for brands. The results can help brands mitigate pushback against activism choices as well as consider strategies for using moral foundations to join online brand activism conversations.

Cortical activity during online motor control in children with and without developmental coordination disorder: a cross-sectional functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

BackgroundChildren with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have impaired online motor control. Researchers posit that this impairment could be due to a deficit in utilizing the internal model control process. However, there is little neurological evidence to support this view because few neuroimaging studies have focused specifically on tasks involving online motor control. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the differences in cortical hemodynamic activity during an online movement adjustment task between children with and without DCD.MethodsTwenty children with DCD (mean age: 9.88 ± 1.67 years; gender: 14M/6F) and twenty age-and-gender matched children with typical development (TD) (mean age: 9.87 ± 1.59 years; gender: 14M/6F) were recruited via convenience sampling. Participants performed a double-step reaching task under two conditions (with and without online adjustment of reaching). Cortical hemodynamic activity during task in ten regions of interest, including bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, superior parietal cortex, and inferior parietal cortex was recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. In the analyses, change in oxyhemoglobin (ΔHbO) concentration was used to characterize hemodynamic response. Two-way analyses of variance were conducted for each region of interest to compare hemodynamic responses between groups and conditions. Additionally, Pearson’s r correlations between hemodynamic response and task performance were performed.ResultsOutcome showed that children with DCD required significantly more time to correct their reaching movements compared to the control group (t = 3.948, P < 0.001). Furthermore, children with DCD have a significantly lower ΔHbO change in the left superior parietal cortex during movement correction, compared to children with TD (F = 4.482, P = 0.041). Additionally, a significant negative correlation (r = − 0.598, P < 0.001) was observed between the difference in movement time of reaching and the difference in ΔHbO between conditions in the left superior parietal cortex.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that deficiencies in processing real-time sensory feedback, considering the function of the superior parietal cortex, might be related to the impaired online motor control observed in children with DCD. Interventions could target this issue to enhance their performance in online motor control.

Nyilvános táblák és korlátok. A közösségi média állampolgári részvételi oldala és a digitális objektivizmus igénye

Online movements based on local, regional or ethnic identities and their positive effects, which support civic participation and express community solidarity, are of particular importance in evaluating digital media. To better understand the social impact of digital media, three case studies are presented. Two independent case studies – one on language use in southern Slovakia and the other on online organisations in Szeklerland – will be analysed to understand the context of online social mobilisation. Thirdly, a further case study is used to investigate the extent to which certain ideas related to competitiveness, meritocracy and consumption prevail among the domestic population, with a particular focus on university networks. Finally, it is concluded that it is important to take into account the complexity of the impact of digital media in the evaluation and not to stick to optimistic or pessimistic extremes.

Double-Edged Sword? The Impact of Online Misogyny on Female College Students' Digital Activism in the Post-COVID-19 Era.

Using original surveys to investigate how online gender-based harassment marginalizes or empowers female college students, we found increased exposure to misogyny polarizes digital participation. Women aware of gender inequality in Korea encountering online hate speech were more inclined to engage in online movements, unlike women who did not recognize such inequality. This highlights distinct opportunities in relation to digital activism, showing online hate speech can sometimes be a catalyst for online political participation. This study expands current research on digital protest, highlighting the political ramifications of empowering women in the critical context of their unequal democratic rights outside the West.

Hashtag War in Gaza: An Analysis of the Role of Indonesian Citizens in #JulidFisabilillah from the Transnational Conflict Dimension

Abstract: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict not only has an impact on land but also extends to cyberspace. This research investigates the digital landscape of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, specifically focusing on online activism surrounding the Gaza conflict. This research investigates the hashtag #JulidFisabilillah, a leading online movement originating from Indonesian citizens. Through comprehensive analysis, this research aims to uncover the motivations, narratives, and impacts of #JulidFisabilillah in the broader context of the Israeli-Palestinian War. By examining digital discourse, social media trends, and the role of Indonesian society in shaping online narratives, this research provides insight into the transnational dimensions of the conflict and the influence of digital activism on public opinion. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the role played by Indonesian netizens on online platforms in mobilizing global support and shaping perceptions during geopolitical conflicts.

Online Mothering: The Empowering Nature of a Hashtag Movement Founded on Social Sharing and Stereotype Deconstruction

Online mothering is an arising and multifaceted phenomenon as the online world offers unique opportunities and risks in a particularly challenging period. The overall aim of this work is to investigate the features of the hashtag movement #itcouldbeme, which was born after a terrible news event concerning a newborn’s death, specifically concerning (a) the e-activation levels; (b) the emotional arousal; (c) the potential presence of deconstruction of stereotypes concerning intensive mothering. To investigate positioning, reactions, and emotions, a database of 394 online posts gathered from popular Italian social networks was created, manually codified, and analyzed through the chi-square test. The results enabled us to deepen the associations among these variables, thus revealing the opportunities for empowerment offered by the socio-cultural positioning, different emotional pathways, and adhesion to this online movement. Finally, implications for professionals and public health issues are discussed.

Differences in source selection and their effect on the quality of written statements during a critical online reasoning performance assessment

The importance of researching information on the Internet is ever increasing. While ease of use and accessibility are advantages, there is a risk of not being able to adequately assess the relevance and reliability of online sources. With data from the BRIDGE-project (N = 143) we assess the online movements of respondents and track how they researched digitally to answer a task on a generic, accessible topic. We then draw conclusions about their search behavior during this open online performance assessment. The controlled and monitored environment allowed to identify differences in their source selection and how those had an impact on the quality of their written statements respective to the given task.

Youth political participation and digital movement in Indonesia: the case of #ReformasiDikorupsi and #TolakOmnibusLaw.

The younger generations have always been at the forefront of and contributed significantly to social movements that are critical of state policies or respond to socio-political situations. This is also what happened in large movements involving young people in Indonesia, conventionally in the form of demonstrations and digital movements. This study seeks to explore the relationship between youth political participation, digital media, and the development of youth political identity by analyzing young people's engagement in some of the most significant political protests in Indonesia during the mass protests of #ReformasiDikorupsi, a movement opposing the amendments of several important bills, and #TolakOmnibusLaw, a movement opposing the establishment of a new single bill related to labor and investment, between 2019 and 2020. By analyzing quantitative data through data mining from Twitter from October 2019 to November 2020 with the social network analysis method, this study discusses online youth participation in social movements and the way they shape their political identity. Our research found that young people play an active and central role in building online and offline movements. In particular, the online movement contributes to the growth of the offline protest movement, and vice versa, because of concerns about the practice of illiberal democracy.

EXAMINING CRISIS COMMUNICATION AND ONLINE ACTIVISM IN INDONESIA: A CASE STUDY ON 2022 VOTRE PEAU

This article discusses the crisis experienced by a local beauty brand, Votre Peau, in 2022, following an internal event featuring a "best dress challenge" that was heavily criticized by netizens for being perceived as disrespectful towards Islam and women. This crisis drew condemnation from netizens and sparked an online movement to boycott or cancel the brand due to consumer dissatisfaction. The research aims to examine the crisis communication strategies employed by Votre Peau in response to online activism. Qualitative data analysis is conducted through a case study utilizing concepts from digital activism and image repair theory by William L. Benoit. The analysis findings indicate that Votre Peau implemented image repair strategies by providing open clarifications and apologies on social media. Despite these efforts, disgruntled consumers feel that the approach was ineffective and continued the cancel culture movement against Votre Peau. An intriguing aspect is the slactivism paradox, which shows a decline in the trend of the boycott movement simultaneously with the decrease in its virality. This article contributes to underscores the importance of crisis communication strategies as rapid dialogue dissemination in digital media can profoundly impact the company's or brand’s reputation. Therefore, having a good crisis communication strategy is crucial for addressing various situations, especially in digital era like today.

Youth political participation and digital movement in Indonesia: the case of #ReformasiDikorupsi and #TolakOmnibusLaw

The younger generations have always been at the forefront of and contributed significantly to social movements that are critical of state policies or respond to socio-political situations. This is also what happened in large movements involving young people in Indonesia, conventionally in the form of demonstrations and digital movements. This study seeks to explore the relationship between youth political participation, digital media, and the development of youth political identity by analyzing young people’s engagement in some of the most significant political protests in Indonesia during the mass protests of #ReformasiDikorupsi, a movement opposing the amendments of several important bills, and #TolakOmnibusLaw, a movement opposing the establishment of a new single bill related to labor and investment, between 2019 and 2020. By analyzing quantitative data through data mining from Twitter from October 2019 to November 2020 with the social network analysis method, this study discusses online youth participation in social movements and the way they shape their political identity. Our research found that young people play an active and central role in building online and offline movements. In particular, the online movement contributes to the growth of the offline protest movement, and vice versa, because of concerns about the practice of illiberal democracy.

Pathways from the superior colliculus and the nucleus of the optic tract to the posterior parietal cortex in macaque monkeys: Functional frameworks for representation updating and online movement guidance.

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) integrates multisensory and motor-related information for generating and updating body representations and movement plans. We used retrograde transneuronal transfer of rabies virus combined with a conventional tracer in macaque monkeys to identify direct and disynaptic pathways to the arm-related rostral medial intraparietal area (MIP), the ventral lateral intraparietal area (LIPv), belonging to the parietal eye field, and the pursuit-related lateral subdivision of the medial superior temporal area (MSTl). We found that these areas receive major disynaptic pathways via the thalamus from the nucleus of the optic tract (NOT) and the superior colliculus (SC), mainly ipsilaterally. NOT pathways, targeting MSTl most prominently, serve to process the sensory consequences of slow eye movements for which the NOT is the key sensorimotor interface. They potentially contribute to the directional asymmetry of the pursuit and optokinetic systems. MSTl and LIPv receive feedforward inputs from SC visual layers, which are potential correlates for fast detection of motion, perceptual saccadic suppression and visual spatial attention. MSTl is the target of efference copy pathways from saccade- and head-related compartments of SC motor layers and head-related reticulospinal neurons. They are potential sources of extraretinal signals related to eye and head movement in MSTl visual-tracking neurons. LIPv and rostral MIP receive efference copy pathways from all SC motor layers, providing online estimates of eye, head and arm movements. Our findings have important implications for understanding the role of the PPC in representation updating, internal models for online movement guidance, eye-hand coordination and optic ataxia.

The Sultan, Survivors, and Silencers: The #ArewaMeToo Movement in Northern Nigeria’s Online Sphere

The #ArewaMeToo movement in Nigeria is a social media-driven campaign against sexual harassment and gender-based violence. The movement has generated controversy and resistance, prompting a closer examination of its emergence, trajectory, impact, and implications. This study, therefore, examines the emergence and trajectory of the movement and how it has used social media platforms such as Twitter (X) and Facebook to raise awareness about sexual harassment and gender-based violence in northern Nigeria. The movement has attracted significant attention and support, particularly from women who identify themselves as survivors of sexual harassment and who seek to challenge dominant approaches to sexual assault and harassment in the region. Drawing on both secondary and primary sources, this qualitative study provides a comprehensive understanding of the #ArewaMeToo movement and its impact. This research finds the controversial factors that contributed to the Nigerian Sultanate Council’s decision to ban the movement, including the influence of Muslim intellectuals and social media influencers. It also reveals the historical context, key actors, and impact of the movement, as well as the effectiveness of online movements in driving social change.

Signs of criticality in social explosions

The success of an on-line movement could be defined in terms of the shift to large-scale and the later off-line massive street actions of protests. The role of social media in this process is to facilitate the transformation from small or local feelings of disagreement into large-scale social actions. The way how social media achieves that effect is by growing clusters of people and groups with similar effervescent feelings, which otherwise would not be in touch with each other. It is natural to think that these kinds of macro social actions, as a consequence of the spontaneous and massive interactions, will attain the growth and divergence of those clusters, like the correlation length of statistical physics, giving rise to important simplifications on several statistics. In this work, we report the presence of signs of criticality in social demonstrations. Namely, similar power-law exponents are found whenever the distributions are calculated either considering time windows of the same length or with the same number of hashtag usages. In particular, the exponents for the distributions during the event were found to be smaller than before the event, and this is also observed either if we count the hashtags only once per user or if all their usages are considered. By means of network representations, we show that the systems present two kinds of high connectedness, characterised by either high or low values of modularity. The importance of analysing systems near a critical point is that any small disturbance can escalate and induce large-scale—nationwide—chain reactions.

Short-Term Modulation of Online Monocular Visuomotor Function

Previous literature suggests that correcting ongoing movements is more effective when using the dominant limb and seeing with the dominant eye. Specifically, individuals are more effective at adjusting their movement to account for an imperceptibly perturbed or changed target location (i.e., online movement correction), when vision is available to the dominant eye. However, less is known if visual-motor functions based on monocular information can undergo short-term neuroplastic changes after a bout of practice, to improve online correction processes. Participants (n = 12) performed pointing movements monocularly and their ability to correct their movement towards an imperceptibly displaced target was assessed. On the first day, the eye associated with smaller correction amplitudes was exclusively trained during acquisition. While correction amplitude was assessed again with both eyes monocularly, only the eye with smaller correction amplitudes in the pre-test showed significant improvement in delayed retention. These results indicate that monocular visuomotor pathways can undergo short-term neuroplastic changes.

Cross-domain prediction approach of human lower limb voluntary movement intention for exoskeleton robot based on EEG signals.

Exoskeleton robot control should ideally be based on human voluntary movement intention. The readiness potential (RP) component of the motion-related cortical potential is observed before movement in the electroencephalogram and can be used for intention prediction. However, its single-trial features are weak and highly variable, and existing methods cannot achieve high cross-temporal and cross-subject accuracies in practical online applications. Therefore, this work aimed to combine a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) framework with a transfer learning (TL) strategy to predict the lower limb voluntary movement intention, thereby improving the accuracy while enhancing the model generalization capability; this would also provide sufficient processing time for the response of the exoskeleton robotic system and help realize robot control based on the intention of the human body. The signal characteristics of the RP for lower limb movement were analyzed, and a parameter TL strategy based on CNN was proposed to predict the intention of voluntary lower limb movements. We recruited 10 subjects for offline and online experiments. Multivariate empirical-mode decomposition was used to remove the artifacts, and the moment of onset of voluntary movement was labeled using lower limb electromyography signals during network training. The RP features can be observed from multiple data overlays before the onset of voluntary lower limb movements, and these features have long latency periods. The offline experimental results showed that the average movement intention prediction accuracy was 95.23% ± 1.25% for the right leg and 91.21% ± 1.48% for the left leg, which showed good cross-temporal and cross-subject generalization while greatly reducing the training time. Online movement intention prediction can predict results about 483.9 ± 11.9ms before movement onset with an average accuracy of 82.75%. The proposed method has a higher prediction accuracy with a lower training time, has good generalization performance for cross-temporal and cross-subject aspects, and is well-prioritized in terms of the temporal responses; these features are expected to lay the foundation for further investigations on exoskeleton robot control.

Crowdfunding for Inter-Faith Peace: Youth, Networked Social Movement, and Muslim Philanthropy NGOs in Contemporary Indonesia

This study examines the involvement of Indonesian youth and Muslim philanthropy NGOs in the promotion of inter-faith harmony through crowdfunding. Crowdfunding or online fundraising has been rapidly growing in Indonesia. It has been used to respond to various issues among others are religious violence. Currently, almost whenever radical acts happened in Indonesia, people turned to crowdfunding to express inter-faith solidarity and support. This study draws from the concept of networked social movement to explain the characteristics of crowdfunding campaigns for inter-faith harmony. This concept highlights contemporary online movements that are spontaneous, leaderless, and temporal in nature which is distinct from the well-organized movements commonly studied by scholars. This study argues that the characteristics of network social movement fit with the current generation of remaja that is assumed to be socially apathetic and more immersed in developing themselves and consuming media. Nevertheless, despite the spontaneous and temporal tenets, the youth’s inter-faith movements were able to mobilize a significant number of donations and attract Muslim NGOs that were often perceived to be sectarian to support the inter-faith campaigns. The data in this study were collected from interviews with the campaign initiators and Muslim philanthropy NGOs. This study also observed donors’ comments and interactions in the largest crowdfunding platform in Indonesia, Kitabisa, particularly in the campaigns that responded to religious violence. The findings of this study contribute to the studies on Indonesian youth, Islamic philanthropy, and the state of inter-faith relations in Indonesia which was argued to be experiencing a conservative turn.

Crowdfunding for inter-faith peace: youth, networked social movement, and muslim philanthropy NGOs in contemporary Indonesia

This study examines the involvement of Indonesian youth and Muslimphilanthropy NGOs in the promotion of inter-faith harmony throughcrowdfunding. Crowdfunding or online fundraising has been rapidly growing inIndonesia. It has been used to respond to various issues, among which is religiousviolence. Oftentimes, when radical acts happened in Indonesia, people turnedto crowdfunding to express inter-faith solidarity and support. This study drawsfrom the concept of networked social movement to explain the characteristicsof crowdfunding campaigns for inter-faith harmony. This concept highlightscontemporary online movements that are spontaneous, leaderless, and temporalin nature which is distinct from the well-organized movements commonly studiedby scholars. This study employs digital ethnography on campaigns that respondedto religious violence in the largest crowdfunding platform in Indonesia, Kitabisa,which is complemented by interviews with the campaign initiators and Muslimphilanthropy NGOs. This article argues that the characteristics of network social movement fit with the current youth generation that is assumed to be sociallyapathetic and more immersed in developing themselves and consuming media.Nevertheless, despite the spontaneous and temporal tenets, the youth’s inter-faithmovements were able to mobilize a significant number of donations and attractMuslim NGOs that were often perceived to be sectarian to support the inter-faithcampaigns. The findings of this study contribute to the studies on Indonesianyouth, Islamic philanthropy, and the state of inter-faith relations in Indonesia,which was argued to be experiencing a conservative turn.

Illusion of inclusion: #BlackVanlife as counter-storytelling

Vanlife as a hypermobile travel practice relies heavily on online storytelling to connect its members and promote its values. Setting itself apart from sedentary and materialistic forms of living and mainstream tourism, it celebrates freedom, adventure, and togetherness with a touch of urban chic and through the lens of Instagram filters. It portrays itself as an extremely inclusive, caring, open-minded, and welcoming community united around a spirit of exploration. Challenging this notion of inclusivity, the hashtag #blackvanlife draws attention to the under-representation of vanlifers of color in vanlife-related social media posts. Using a netnographic approach, we explore #blackvanlife as a form of counter-storytelling and social media activism that seeks to reveal and eradicate this illusion of inclusion. We find that the individual counter-stories of Black vanlifers reproduce the central tenets of the general vanlife narrative while also drawing attention to the unique lived experiences of Black vanlifers. Racist encounters and restricted mobility characterize their movements, while limited access to the glamorous vanlife lifestyle and lack of inclusion in the community lead to marginalization. At the counter-narrative level, #blackvanlife opposes #vanlife by challenging its notion of inclusivity, but also empowers Black vanlifers through inspiration and support. It creates an online movement that spreads to offline practices by connecting Black vanlifers, creating counterspaces, and recruiting allies. We highlight how this discourse forms an integral part of Black placemaking within vanlife, enables Black mobility, and complements other Black travel-related movements.

Understanding Connective Action in the Wadas Village Conflict: Social Network Analysis on the #WadasSuing Hashtag

The conflict that occurred in Wadas Village is a conflict that originated from a grassroots movement, has been going on for several years since 2013, and has not been resolved until now. In addition to conducting movements through offline actions, the community and non-governmental organizations that oppose mining plans also make efforts to spread actions and foster support by using social media. Connective action theory is used in this research, it is important to know the power of the #Wadasmengault hashtag who are the actors, and the network structure formed in this online movement. The method used in this research is Social Network Analysis (SNA). Data collection was carried out using Netlytic software, The results obtained are that the hashtag #Wadas Mengtinggian as an extension of offline action was less successful. Because the Reply, retweet, and mention activities are one-way. The dominant actors in hashtag conversations are NGO accounts and environmental organizations, the delivery of information only spreads among them and does not spread naturally to the wider community