The Mechanisms of Protest Recruitment through Social Media Networks

• In Event: Organizing and Communication

Abstract

The literature on protest mobilization has long suggested that social ties have a strong influence in the decision to protest. Recent literature on social media mobilization also shows that in the current digital environment these social ties effects often take place online, particularly in social media. However, previous research does not provide clear evidence for why personal ties play a mobilizing role. In this paper we lay out four main theoretical mechanisms and we test them using real-world protest attendance data: social networks mobilize because a) they provide basic logistic information that is vital to protest coordination, and b) they create motivations for others to protest, c) they solve coordination problems, and d) they put pressure on others to participate. We collect data on Twitter activity during the 2018 Womens March that took place in many cities in the United States on January 20th and 21st. We then use geolocated accounts to find a set of users who attended a march and a set of users who did not. We use machine learning techniques to determine the amount of information, motivation, coordination, and pressure frames to which they were exposed through their Twitter networks. In line with current theories, we find users who protested to be more connected among themselves than those who did not. In regards to the mechanism analysis, we find that users whose friends sent a larger number of information and coordination messages were more likely to protest, but find no effect for motivation and pressure.

Authors

• Andreu Casas, New York University

• Joshua A. Tucker, New York University

• Jonathan Nagler, New York University

• Jennifer M. Larson, Vanderbilt University