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Cited by 492Social Media and PoliticsSociopolitical Dynamics in RussiaPopulism, Right-Wing Movements

How Social Media Facilitates Political Protest: Information, Motivation, and Social Networks

Jost, John T., Barberá, Pablo, Bonneau, Richard, Langer, Melanie, Metzger, Megan, Nagler, Jonathan, Sterling, Joanna, Tucker, Joshua A.·2018·Political Psychology
DOI 10.1111/pops.12478
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Abstract

It is often claimed that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are profoundly shaping political participation, especially when it comes to protest behavior. Whether or not this is the case, the analysis of “Big Data” generated by social media usage offers unprecedented opportunities to observe complex, dynamic effects associated with large‐scale collective action and social movements. In this article, we summarize evidence from studies of protest movements in the United States, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine demonstrating that: (1) Social media platforms facilitate the exchange of information that is vital to the coordination of protest activities, such as news about transportation, turnout, police presence, violence, medical services, and legal support; (2) in addition, social media platforms facilitate the exchange of emotional and motivational contents in support of and opposition to protest activity, including messages emphasizing anger, social identification, group efficacy, and concerns about fairness, justice, and deprivation as well as explicitly ideological themes; and (3) structural characteristics of online social networks, which may differ as a function of political ideology, have important implications for information exposure and the success or failure of organizational efforts. Next, we issue a brief call for future research on a topic that is understudied but fundamental to appreciating the role of social media in facilitating political participation, namely friendship. In closing, we liken the situation confronted by researchers who are harvesting vast quantities of social media data to that of systems biologists in the early days of genome sequencing.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/pops.12478

Cites

26 of 26 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Moral outrage can encourage an active response, such as protests for social justice.

    “moral outrage can encourage an active response, such as protests for social justice (Hutcherson & Gross 2011, Jost et al. 2018, Spring et al. 2018, van Zomeren et al. 2004)”

    From Social Media and Morality. (2024) · cites this paper as Jost et al. 2018

  • Protestors who took to Facebook during the 2013-2014 Maidan protests in Ukraine spread awareness, garnering millions of likes.

    “One analysis during the 2013-2014 Maidan protests in Ukraine found that protestors who took to Facebook spread awareness, garnering millions of likes ( Jost et al. 2018; see Figure 4).”

    From Social Media and Morality. (2024) · cites this paper as Jost et al. 2018

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Authors
Jost, J. T., Barberá, P., Bonneau, R., Langer, M., Metzger, M., Nagler, J., Sterling, J., & Tucker, J. A.
Affiliations
  • New York University (US)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
  • University of Wisconsin System (US)
  • Princeton University (US)
Corresponding author
Jost, John T.
ORCID
Venue
Political Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-02
Volume
39
Issue
S1
Pages
85-118
ISSN
  • 0162-895X (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9221
DOI
10.1111/pops.12478
OpenAlex
W2796871000
Cited by
492
References
26
Citations by year
2026: 40 · 2025: 74 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 84 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 65 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 10 · 2014: 1
FWCI
96.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 12 d)
Locations
  • Political Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
Keywords
social media, political protest, social movements, collective action, information sharing, protest coordination, political motivation, social networking sites, political ideology, friendship, political participation, social media data

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