Social Movement Media Research Articles

Breaking the silence: The effects of online social movements on gender-based violence

This paper investigates the impact of online social movements against gender-based violence (GBV) on GBV-related crime. Using machine learning techniques, we construct a novel dataset tracking the prevalence of GBV-related social media movements on Twitter from 2014 to 2017. Matching this data with weekly FBI crime reports across U.S. states we estimate the effect of tweets related to GBV on GBV-related reported crime. Our econometric approach aims to mitigate concerns of spurious correlations arising from common trends in Twitter usage and crime. We estimate national level regressions with differential effects on GBV-related and non-GBV-related crimes within the same week, as well as regressions at the state-by-week level controlling for state and month fixed effects. Our main findings reveal that GBV-related tweets led to a small but significant short-term decrease in GBV-related crime reports. Further analysis suggests that the decrease is attributable to a reduction in actual crime rather than in reporting behavior.

Innovations in Preconception Care: Optimizing Health for All Individuals.

Optimizing the overall health of individuals prior to pregnancy can improve both pregnancy and lifelong health outcomes. Despite extremely high financial expenditure on birth in the United States, maternal and infant mortality rates continue to rise. Moreover, significant racial and ethnic disparities persist in perinatal health outcomes. Preconception care, or health care provided before or between pregnancies, has the capacity to meet these challenges. Preconception care can be integrated into every health care visit, including visits with primary care, reproductive health, and mental health care clinicians. Increasing awareness among clinicians of the benefits of preconception care and equipping them with innovative strategies to implement this care into practice, the number of people receiving optimal care could be increased. Recent innovations in preconception care include group care, health applications (apps), reminders in electronic health records, social marketing campaigns, social media movements, community-based partnerships, health care policy and access, and improving public and clinician education on preconception health topics. Ultimately, improving preconception health is best done in partnership between the consumer and clinician. Midwives, whose care is person-centered and partnership-focused, are well positioned to champion the innovation and implementation of equitable preconception care. The purpose of this State of the Science review, therefore, is to synthesize the literature on recent evidence-based innovations that may be used to improve preconception health and counseling.

#SaveTheChildren: A pilot study of a social media movement co-opted by conspiracy theorists

In a preliminary analysis of 121,984 posts from X (formerly known as Twitter) containing the hashtag #SaveTheChildren, we found that conspiratorial posts received more engagement than authentic hashtag activism between January 2022 and March 2023. Conspiratorial posts received twice the number of reposts as non-conspiratorial content. Our initial findings of a forthcoming larger multi-platform study suggest that the way that users strategically exploit the #SaveTheChildren hashtag may have implications for the visibility of legitimate social movements on the X platform. Future work should consider other social media platforms to determine if the visibility of legitimate social movements is decreasing more broadly, particularly in the context of 2024 being the largest election year in history.

An Innovative Methodological Approach to Analysing Social Media Movements

Social media movements take place in an increasingly volatile technological landscape. Researchers who want to analyse their spread must navigate methodological challenges relating to data accessibility, combining qualitative and quantitative data, and remaining attentive to the shifting technological affordances of social media platforms. In response to key challenges, the paper outlines an innovative, three-fold methodological approach to the analysis of social media movements integrating three strands: the Linguistic, Material, and Processual (LMP). Using the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie as a case study, the paper demonstrates how an LMP approach can provide richer insights into social media movements which would be missed by most current methods. Its low-cost design, flexible approach, and technical accessibility equips the researcher in anticipation of further change in the technical landscape. The framework outlined in the paper can be applied to other social media platforms.

Fuel for revolt – moral arguments as delegitimation practices in Swedish fuel protests

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of moral arguments in the delegitimation of transition policies. Previous research has highlighted attitudes and arguments that explain resistance against transition policies, including perceptions of unfairness; inefficiency and effectiveness; lack of trust; and ideology. This article provides further understanding of resistance to climate policies by zooming in on how social movements implicitly and explicitly use moral arguments to delegitimise low-carbon transition policies. Through a qualitative interview study with members of a Swedish social media movement against low-carbon transport policies, we analyse central arguments against policies; how moral considerations figure in them; and how these strengthen argumentative delegitimation practices against transition policies in the transport sector. We show how moral arguments serve to legitimise protests both by instilling an urgency in the cause and generalising the demands to delegitimise mainstream transition policies, and suggest that recognition of this may contribute to both better analysis and policies.

The Mobilizing Power of Visual Media Across Stages of Social-Mediated Protests

ABSTRACT The popularity of camera phones, the availability of photo-editing apps, and the rise of visually oriented social media platforms have made it convenient for citizens to produce and circulate visual content in contentious politics. While scholars have increasingly recognized the role of visuals in mobilizing social-mediated protests, how different types of visuals affect message engagement across different stages of protests remains underexplored. For this study, we analyzed approximately ten million tweets from Twitter for three social-mediated protests (Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, and Women’s March). We found that posts with images and videos generally attracted more audience engagement than their textual counterparts. Unpacking the role of visual media across different modalities and stages of social-mediated protests, we found that the superior effects of visuals were generally more pronounced during the ignition phase of the protest than the periods before and after. By applying unsupervised image clustering on millions of protest visuals, we systematically established four common visual content categories: crowd-based protest photos, non-crowd-protest human photos, non-human photos, and non-photograph visuals. We revealed heterogeneous effects on audience engagement across content categories and protests, and explored these categories through qualitative analysis of most-engaged visuals. These findings enrich our understanding of the mobilizing power of visual media in social movements and shed light on effective communication strategies regarding social inequalities.

How social media usage and the fear of missing out impact minimalistic consumption

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of social media usage (SMU) on minimalist consumption and how the fear of missing out (FoMO) underlies this effect.Design/methodology/approachFour preregistered correlational/experimental studies (n = 1,763) are used. A pilot study (n = 436) examines the correlations between SMU, FoMO and minimalism. Studies 1 (n = 409), 2 (n = 415) and 3 (n = 503) further investigate the influence of SMU on minimalist consumption intentions, including mindful purchase, forgoing free products and decluttering, and test for evidence of mediation via FoMO by measuring or manipulating FoMO.FindingsThe results show that a high SMU makes consumers susceptible to FoMO, leading to impulsive purchases and careless product acquisition. However, when campaigners promote minimalism as a social media movement, they can activate FoMO, persuading consumers to practice decluttering.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research might examine how subjective age affects FoMO and minimalist consumption tendencies. Could campaigners use young social cues to make older consumers more susceptible to FoMO appeals? Could old social cues cause younger consumers to perceive greater social responsibility and to embrace minimalist consumption?Practical implicationsMinimalist lifestyles can promote sustainable consumption. This research provides insights into how SMU is a double-edged sword – it can cause FoMO users to disdain minimalism. However, it can promote minimalism if a minimalist campaign is strategically positioned as a social media movement using a FoMO-laden appeal.Originality/valueExtant consumer behavior research on minimalism has just begun to investigate the antecedents of minimalist consumption. FoMO is conceptually related to minimalism, but the relationship between FoMO and minimalist consumption has not yet been empirically tested. This research fills these gaps by examining SMU and the associated FoMO as antecedents of minimalist consumption. Empirical evidence for the impact of SMU on various minimalist consumption behaviors and the mediating role of FoMO is provided.

Tweeting Climate Strike: A Netnographic Study of Fridays for Future’s Narratives in the USA and Bangladesh

Nowadays, Twitter (now X) has been a key battleground for environmental activism. This study reveals patterns of the narratives the climate strike movement Fridays for the Future (FFF) shares on the microblogging platform. The article categorically investigates on which points the platform publicizes varying concerns and disseminates differing priorities in the USA and Bangladesh, situated in the so-called Global North and South, respectively, while fighting against catalysts of climate change. The Twitter handles of the youth-led movement, namely Fridays for Future U.S. and Fridays for Future Bangladesh, are utilizing this social media platform to convey their agendas across the globe in a bid to influence public views. This paper illustrates the concerns and priorities these Twitter communities share in the two countries to mobilize their agendas and assemble their supporters. The study has found that the social media movement platforms share concerns mostly about causes and consequences of climate change, power corruption, and system rigging by the ‘dirty companies’, climate, and social justice for those who mainly suffer during climatic disasters. The platforms also discuss possible resolutions to contain the increasing number of climatic incidents and, subsequently, their impact and action plans. The netnographic method, which involves an inductive approach, was applied to analyze the tweeting data.

IN-GOOD-NEWS-IA”: THE ROLE OF GOOD NEWS FROM INDONESIA (GNFI) IN HELPING TO ENGENDER SENSE OF NATIONHOOD

The bad news seemed to have become a daily dish in a variety of Indonesian media today. Meanwhile, positive news and impressive achievements of Indonesia are often masked, or only displayed in a tiny part of the whole story. It also dismisses the sense of concern for a nation because the audience is fed up. News reporting has the possibility to influence public opinion and audience behaviour. Furthermore, the effects may have an impact on the sense of nationhood. The matters about a country are reflecting on how the media plays the role as news platform in creating the values of nationalism in the content. This essay examines the roles of Good News From Indonesia (GNFI) news platform and social media movement in Indonesia in helping to engender a sense of nationhood. This research uses qualitative methods, including media observation, in-depth interview, and also completed with literature review to acquire data to support the analysis. The essay focuses on three primary roles of GNFI, which are fulfilling the needs of useful information, restoring the optimism of Indonesia, and rebuilding confidence and citizen’s optimism.

Comparative digital protest cultures in South Africa and Tamil Nadu: #feesmustfall, #Jallikattu, and Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) - a case of surveillance and diasporic potential

This paper explores three protest movements differing in scale and scope in two regions in the world. #feesmustfall (2015-2016) was a social media movement in South Africa to protest against prohibitive hikes in university fees. #Jallikattu (2017) was a social media movement in Tamil Nadu (India) to lift a ban imposed by the Supreme Court of India against an ancient cultural sport with bulls. Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) is a South African social media movement to raise issues related to shack dwellers. While there is literature focusing on these movements individually (Bosch 2016, Kalaiyarasan 2017, Mdlalose 2014), a comparative approach offers some alternate insights into how state power manifests in the age of digital capitalism. Habermas (1987, 1989) theorised the transformation of the public sphere and key to understanding how these publics contest existing power structures is his explication of authentic communicative action. Using Fuchs’s (2016) and Zuboff’s (2019) analyses of social media activism, we examine police brutality and surveillance in these three movements. The classical model of diaspora (Harutyunyan 2012) is introduced to show how it manifests in two of the protest movements, and contemporary notions of diaspora (Grossman 2019: 1265) are explored to see what they could offer to diverse protest cultures.

Machine Learning Identification on Twitter Towards Combating Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2): Pandemic Attacks and Urban Resilience in Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to detect the topic and discourse of the development of covid-19 and its resistance on social media Twitter in Indonesia. This research method is surveyed through Machine Learning to filter, track, and predict the spread of Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) on Twitter, and is assisted by Nvivo 12 pro and Ncapture analysis tools to collect data from big data on Twitter. The results of this study show ML (Machine Learning) plays a role in fighting the virus, especially looking at it from the perspective of screening, forecasting, and vaccines spread across various social media accounts on Twitter. A comprehensive survey of ML algorithms and models used in covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) development expeditions on Twitter can help fight the virus. This research shows that the hashtag #lawancovid19 (Fight Covid-19) has relevance to several new hashtags that are still relevant in campaigning against covid-19 on Twitter to combat community and urban vulnerabilities in Indonesia. Collectively, characteristics such as Tagar #ayovaksin (let's get vaccinated), #jagajarak (keep your distance), and #ayopakaimasker (let's wear masks) support the resistance to covid-19 in Indonesia the account (@Username) that is most often @mention in the covid-19 cloud l action is the account of the @jokowi (President of Indonesia). The social media movement (Twitter) in encouraging community resilience and urban resilience through digital communication against Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has predominantly succeeded in shaping understanding, behavior, and prudence in interacting directly in public spaces. This is important in the context of assessing messages and communications within the overall social media (Twitter) communication activities in response to online resistance measures in support of public health as well as to digitally address the global pandemic. This research contributes to providing insight into the dynamics of covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) combat communication on Social-Media (Twitter) and supporting public health measures.

#Narcissisticabuse: sharing personal and educational narratives during domestic violence awareness month

ABSTRACT This article uses the framework of ‘digitized narratives’ to examine how, in the aftermath of the Gabby Petito case, survivors of narcissistic abuse turned to Twitter to share personal narratives and educate others about violence against women. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of 204 tweets collected during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the U.S. in October 2021, we argue that survivors of narcissistic abuse used #NarcissisticAbuse to build community, publicize the characteristics of narcissistic abuse, and encourage survivors to recognize warning signs and seek help. The strong educational focus in the discourse around #NarcissisticAbuse separates it from other social media movements (e.g., #MeToo, #WhyIStayed) in that women strategically drew on their personal narratives to describe the traits of a narcissist, the control mechanisms used to subdue victims, and the types of abuse they experienced. In doing so, they educated the public about the dangers of narcissistic abuse and raised awareness about this often less visible and less talked about form of abuse.

TimesUpPRS: A Social Media Movement for Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Plastic Surgery

Minority representation and promotion in medicine is lacking. Social media can facilitate change by raising awareness of biases, empowering others, and cultivating connections. The TimesUpPRS Instagram account was created in March 2020 to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in plastic surgery by celebrating surgeons of diverse identities and emphasizing the need to create safe, fair, and equitable workplaces. We aim to characterize its content, audience demographics, engagement, and impact. All TimesUpPRS posts published until March 2022 were reviewed for content analysis. Audience demographics were assessed through Instagram Insights. Engagement was assessed through likes, comments, and posts tagging @TimesUpPRS. Three hundred fifty-five posts have been published, with 45.9% original content. These posts discuss representation or treatment of women (39.7%), Black (24.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander (14.4%), LGBTQ+ (12.7%), LatinX (6.5%), people of color overall (4.8%), first generation-low income (1.7%), and Native American (1.1%) individuals. 45.1% aimed to raise social awareness, 19.4% spotlighted plastic surgery figures, 16.3% highlighted research, and 5.6% advertised opportunities for community involvement. The mean (SE) number of hashtags utilized was 10.9 (0.6), with #ilooklikeasurgeon used most. There were 2052 followers, but 10,025 accounts reached. Of reached accounts, 66.8% were women, 71.8% were from the U.S., and 55% were aged 25 to 34. The mean (SE) number of likes and comments per post was 62.2 (3.4) and 2.6 (0.2). 85.0% of comments were supportive. Three hundred sixty-six posts tagged @TimesUpPRS. TimesUpPRS has also garnered industry and private sponsorship, inspired DEI programming, and collaborated with multiple other organizations. In 2 years, TimesUpPRS has generated 350+ posts and reached 10,000+ accounts. Content highlighted figures of diverse identities and cultivated high, positive engagement. Now with 20 content creators, TimesUpPRS will continue increasing content, expanding its audience, and fostering impactful discussion that helps shift the existing culture to one of inclusivity and equity.

Acceptance and hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccine among university community members of Otukpo, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global public health problem that has had a detrimental influence on the economy of countries of the world, including Nigeria: (1) Background: The study aimed to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among staff and students at Federal University of Health Sciences Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria, while exploring the factors influencing these attitudes; (2) Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2021 and April 2022, with data analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics; (3) Results: Of the hundred and fifty (150) completed and analysed questionnaires the mean age of the respondents was 34.8 ± 8.64 years, of which majority of them 80.0% (122) ranging between 16 and 45 years. The majority of the respondents 77.3% (116) have been tested for the virus to know their status. In total, 51.2% of trial participants indicated hesitancy to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The two most frequent reasons for hesitation were scepticism about the vaccination due to fast production and rollout (32.2%) and fear of vaccine side effects due to social media movements (23.3%). The most often cited reasons for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccination included uncertainty about its efficacy, a lack of knowledge about the vaccine, a preference for another kind of protection, and unreliability of the vaccine (due to its rapid development). Staff category (Academics, non-academics, students, and health workers), age, and religion were the significant associated factors influencing vaccine acceptance and hesitancy (P < 0.05); (4) Conclusions: The university community has a high level of awareness of COVID-19 pandemic but vaccine acceptance is low resulting high levels of vaccine hesitancy. These findings suggest that there is a need for further information and education on the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly in communities where vaccine hesitancy is prevalent. This can be achieved through targeted outreach programs, community engagement initiatives, and effective communication strategies that address the concerns and questions of individuals who are hesitant about receiving the vaccine.

Examining health professional perspectives on social media body image movements: A qualitative exploration

There has been a lack of investigation into the understanding of social media body image movements from the healthcare perspective. Health professionals can have a strong influence on how their patients relate to their own bodies, including experiences of weight-based discrimination. This study examined the perspectives of health professionals on body image social media movements and whether they believed they were relevant to their professional practice. This study recruited 30 medical and allied health professionals to participate in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to generate common themes across the data. Overall, participants identified benefits associated with body positivity online content, but expressed concerns for the health status of influencers with larger bodies and that overall, the pro-anorexia movement was harmful. Despite having limited understanding and exposure to the body neutrality movement, participants generally preferred it over body positivity. Finally, participants stated that they believed that these movements were relevant to their practice, yet were rarely discussed in consults. These findings suggest there is a lack of body image-based discussions despite the relevance to patient health across multiple domains. This indicates that health professionals may benefit from social media literacy training to support thorough assessment and treatment of their patients.

Disrespect during childbirth and postpartum mental health: a French cohort study

BackgroundWhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned about mistreatment, disrespect and/or abuse during childbirth as early as 2014. This same year a social media movement with #payetonuterus brought to light the problematic of obstetrical violence in French speaking countries, and more specifically on issues of disrespect. The experience of care is an integral part of the quality of care, and perception on inadequate support during labour and loss of control in labour are some of the most frequently reported risk factors for childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD). Therefore, it seems crucial to study the associations between disrespect during childbirth and the mental well-being of mothers.MethodsWe performed a multicentered cohort study using auto-questionnaires within a French perinatal network. The main outcome was women’s report of disrespect during childbirth measured by the Behavior of the Mother’s Caregivers – Satisfaction Questionnaire (BMC-SQ) 3 days and 2 months after childbirth. CB-PTSD and Postpartum Depression (PPD) were assessed 2 months after childbirth using respectively the Post-Traumatic Checklist Scale (PCLS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).ResultsThis study followed 123 mothers from childbirth to 2 months postpartum. Among them, 8.13% (n = 10/123) reported disrespect during childbirth at 3 days after childbirth. With retrospect, 10.56% (n = 13/123) reported disrespect during childbirth at 2 months postpartum, i.e. an increase of 31%. Some 10.56% (n = 13/123) of mothers suffered from postpartum depression, and 4.06% (n = 5/123) were considered to have CB-PTSD at 2 months after childbirth. Reported disrespect during childbirth 3 days after birth was significantly associated with higher CB-PTSD 2 months after birth (R2 = 0.11, F(1,117) = 15.14, p < 0.001 and β = 9.11, p = 0.006), PPD at 2 months after childbirth was positively associated to reported disrespect in the birth room, 3 days after birth (R2 = 0.04, F(1, 117) = 6.28, p = 0.01 and β = 3.36, p = 0.096). Meanwhile, PPD and CB-PTSD were significantly associated 2 months after childbirth (R2 = 0.41, F=(1,117) = 82.39, p < 0.01 and β = 11.41, p < 0.001).ConclusionsDisrespect during childbirth was associated with poorer mental health during the postpartum period. Given the high prevalence of mental health problems and the increased susceptibility to depression during the postpartum period, these correlational results highlight the importance of gaining a deeper awareness of healthcare professionals about behaviours or attitudes which might be experienced as disrespectful during childbirth.

Ambivalent Action: Recognizing Bothness in the Narratives of Blackout Tuesday1

Theories of behaviour, choice, and action have long presented an “act” as a kind of bottleneck of meaning‐making, where the action is either a cocktail of partial preferences or the survival of one over the rest. I argue that action is often something very (if subtly) different and propose “ambivalent action” as a category of moral action defined by the actor's conflicting intentions, in which the conflict is reified (not resolved) by the act. Situated in past and contemporary context, the term is an interdisciplinary bridge, with links from classical (if vague) theoretic treatments of “ambivalence” to new sociological analogies in the realm of quantum physics. I explore this duality through the case study of #BlackoutTuesday, a social media movement connected with global protests against police brutality and racism. The black square that characterized the movement is best understood as ambivalent action, as an act of two‐fold narrative‐making: “both” silence and speech. The “success” of an ambivalent action in remaining in two narratives at once is determined by the audience.

Risks of Cultural Marketing in the Era of "Cancel Culture"

The current research study is conducted to analyse how businesses partake in using culture in their marketing strategy, whilst risking the threat of the social media movement known as “cancel culture”. Conducted through descriptive analysis of qualitative secondary research methods, the data of different examples would help build analysis and comparison on the overall risks of cultural marketing and “cancel culture”. Comparisons of businesses such as Marvel, Riot, Pepsi, and Burger King show how to properly make use of culture to market a business and also how a business could make mistakes through using culture, which also eventually leads to facing the “cancel culture” movement. Concluding with the findings that the risk correlates with the appropriateness of how the culture is used in their marketing strategy, risks for businesses to avoid getting “cancelled” could be reduced when used with a great cultural understanding. Therefore, the risk of using culture and the risks from the threats of “cancel culture” depend on the cultural ignorance of the business and how they plan on using said culture.

"Influencing Change: The Role of Media in Social Movements

The paper focuses on the influential role of the media in the shaping and supporting of social movements—one traceable right from early print media to the modern digital age. Entailed historical cases for study, among others, are the Civil Rights Movement, the Fall of Apartheid, and the Arab Spring, which have put forward the very important role of different forms of media in mobilizing public opinion toward social change. This would also include how media works—from agenda-setting to framing and the agency of storytelling in creating affective resonance and moving collective action. Furthermore, problems associated with ethical dilemmas within media reporting are very well documented, from bias to sensationalism and infringements on ethics. Drawing from actual case studies and real theoretical frameworks, the paper argues in a disposition that shows intricate ways in which the media can be related to social movements. Thus it makes a compelling case for ethical journalism in facilitating democratic processes and social justice.

Media Sosial dan Kewarganegaraan Transformatif

This study aims to find out how Info Cegatan Jogja (ICJ) and Merawat Jogja (MJ) became new social movement media and form transformative citizenship awarness. The research paradigm is constructivism. Data collection techniques using observation, interviews and documentation. The results showed that in the Info Cegatan Jogja and Merawat Jogja groups there were post related to social movements such as the anti-vandalism, the anti-waste, the anti-clitih, the anti-bullying, the contact movement and so on. Info Cegatan Jogja and Merawat Jogja is a medium for forming solidarity among the people of Yogyakarta, where many members of the ICJ and MJ are actively post solidarity activities such as house renovation, helping residents who are having problems on the road, providing medical aids, cleaning visual trash, moving wani ngebis, returning lost items to their owners and many others. Thus it can be said that Info Cegatan Jogja and Merawat Jogja have become media for new social movements as well as media for forming transformative citizenship.