Item Details

title

Police My Internet Presence: The Demobilization of Social Movements through Social Media

author

Whitley, Kevin

abstract

Social Media have been utilized by social activists as mediums to produce revolutionary change in todays digitized society. As the internet has become a hubcap for democracy and free speech, the means of revolutionizing has become easier, cheaper, and more readily available for ordinary citizens signaling a shift into what I call the Social Media Screen. However, while marginalized individuals now have greater access to express their grievances, so do individuals who oppose radical change to existing political, social, and economic institutions. I analyze #BlackLivesMatter and the internet blockage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to highlight what I refer to as rhetorical demobilization strategies deployed by oppositional resistance to undercut the efficacy of social movements.

subject

Black Lives Matter

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Public Screen

Rhetorical Demobilization Strategy

Social Media Screen

Social Movements

contributor

Atchison, Robert J (committee chair)

Von Burg, Alessandra (committee member)

Mitra, Ananda (committee member)

date

2018-05-24T08:36:03Z (accessioned)

2018-05-24T08:36:03Z (available)

2018 (issued)

degree

Communication (discipline)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/90709 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

type

Thesis