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Social media has been catalytically taking centre stage in political movements within the contemporary information society. Considering that through social media, ideas could be spread, calling for action and articulation of grievances, the world has witnessed just how a single post or hashtag could rattle the globe within seconds.
Illustration by The Geostrata
What used to be months-, even years-long movements can now gain momentum in a matter of days or hours.
The impact of social media on political activism runs deep: it disrupts traditional power structures, rearranging influence. Social media democratizes access to information and provides a platform to marginalised voices, giving ordinary citizens a new sense of empowerment.
The possibilities of connecting with fellow sympathizers, organizing protests, and mobilizing opposition that people who earlier felt helpless against any form of authoritarianism or unresponsive governments elicit now are at a scale unimaginable before. Today, everything from ideas to grievances to even calls for revolution can spread like wildfire on the internet within no time.
In recent years, these platforms have left pivotal involvement in up tearing down regimes by disrupting traditional power distribution structures and giving ordinary citizens a sense of empowerment.
The paper critically looks into how social media and other digital platforms have brought down governments in light of recent uprisings in Bangladesh and the UK, placed within a broader historical context.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: THE EVOLUTION OF DIGITAL ACTIVISM
The use of digital platforms for political ends is nothing novel, but its potential impact has increased forcefully with improvements in technology over the years. Early 2000s witnessed the first signs of the use of online forums and blogs as protest spaces.
It was, however, during the Arab Spring of 2010-2011 that really saw social media being put into the forefront of political activism.
Protests were organized using such platforms as Facebook or Twitter while real time information was given out through YouTube among others. An example of how the Egyptian revolt became a case in point of the manner in which the techie young group made use of social networks to oust a regime that had been in power for the long term. The parameters of digital activism expanded and became more sophisticated ahead from then.
With mobile phones being enormously popularized and people getting easy access to internet connectivity, social media applications like Instagram, WhatsApp, or Telegram increased the capabilities of online opposition even more than before.
Now, politicians are conscious enough about the disruptive force within these sites; hence, they conduct intensive spying operations, impose ban regulations, and use false information as weapons.
THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA: AMPLIFYING VOICES AND MOBILIZING MASSES
Social media has helped the poor to speak for themselves on a bigger platform by letting scattered people sense common identity. For instance, during the Hong Kong protests in the year 2019, activists used encrypted communication applications to coordinate flash mobs and avoid arrest by police forces.
Such communication networks, since it is decentralized, allows swift spread of information making it difficult for any government to crack down on what people say or think about.
The happenings in Bangladesh currently where demonstrations against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's regime take center stage have revealed the power that social media has wielded in organizing dissenting voices. triggered by claims suggesting electoral fraud, poor governance or misuse of public funds coupled with oppressive regimes; these protests have gained momentum through Facebook and Twitter.
Videos showing violent actions that the police took towards protesters were also shared in these sites while protests were organized through these platforms as well as support groups that had been formed at international level. However, Internet shutdowns carried out by this government aimed at silencing this type of activism only made things worse thus proving how strong digital activism really is.
On the same note, in the UK, social media has taken a crucial role in shaping public opinion and mobilizing demonstrations against the government.
The result of the rising discontent with Brexit, harsh measures of austerity, and cost of living crisis has thus been one of widespread protests. In organizing these demonstrations, it helped greatly with social media sites as evidenced by how #ToriesOut, #GeneralStrike and #Jan25 was trending on Twitter. Accordingly, this rapidity enables real-time coordination of activities thus making it a useful device for mass mobilization.
CASE STUDY: THE ARAB SPRING–A BLUEPRINT FOR DIGITAL REBELLION
The Arab Spring is a case study par excellence to understand how social media toppled regimes. In countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, social media broke the monopoly over information that state-controlled media had held until then.
For instance, in Egypt, the "We Are All Khaled Said" Facebook page, which was a response to the gruesome killing of a young man by police, turned into a mobilizing platform for protests. It had millions of subscribers who later took central roles in organizing the January 25th protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Not limited to the role of organization, social media also played its role in shaping the narrative of the Arab Spring.
These tools were used effectively by the activists to document human rights violations, counter regime propaganda, and draw the attention of the international world toward their struggle.
The global nature of social media meant that these movements could not be easily throttled, and international solidarity added further pressure to regimes to concede.
But the Arab Spring aftermath will also make another case: that of the reduced success of revolutions via social media. It has turned out quite helpful at knocking down regimes and remained unsuccessful at raising structures for sustainable governance. In Egypt, the military took over, and repression followed. This becomes, then, a call for digital activism to be complemented by organized political strategies and institutional reforms.
THE ROLE OF MISINFORMATION AND DIGITAL SURVEILLANCE
Although it is an empowering tool for activists, the regimes have also learned how to leverage it to sustain their control. Countries are fast resorting to digital surveillance, censorship, and misinformation as counterbalancing measures.
In Bangladesh, the internet shutdowns combined with cyber-attacks on opposition websites and the arrest of social media influencers to stifle dissent. Activists, however, continued to carry out their activities by finding a way to circumvent the system through the use of VPNs and encrypted messaging apps. Misinformation is yet another very worrying issue in digital time.
From Bangladesh to the UK, regimes, in collaboration with their collaborators and sympathizers, have employed social media as a channel for distributing fabricated information to defame opposition movements.
In doing so, it created an environment of polarized information in which it becomes hard for citizens to differentiate between genuine activism and state-sponsored propaganda. Long-term effects of weaponized disinformation include the undermining of trust in social media and the weakening of the general power associated with digital activism.
THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: SOCIAL MEDIA'S POTENTIAL FOR BOTH LIBERATION AND CONTROL
Social media is a double-edged sword when it comes to toppling regimes.
In the same measure, as it empowers citizens and amplifies their dissent, it has furnished regimes with new tools of surveillance, propaganda, and control. This has only recently been remarked at protests in Bangladesh and the UK. In Bangladesh, social media has evolved into a platform through which protests are organized, and at the same time, turned into a target for government crackdowns.
Similarly, whereas in the UK, social media is responsible for mobilizing mass protests, it has equally been responsible for spreading some of the most divisive narratives that weaken the opposition movements.
It is also the globality of social media that makes local movements able to gain international attention very quickly, exerting external pressure on regimes.
This might, however, backfire if regimes accused the activists of foreign power influence, hence justifying their repressive measures. Whether social media can really be effective in toppling regimes by means of mobilizing support depends on a balance that avoids the traps regimes set.
THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL REBELLION
Social media will continue to take up an increased role in political activism as the platform continues to grow in size. These protests in Bangladesh and the UK mirror a global trend whereby digital platforms are more and more central to political movements.
That said, regime toppling through the effective use of social media requires activists to adjust themselves in the face of constant threats from digital surveillance, misinformation, and government crackdowns. Offline and online, the terrain of digital rebellion is going to be a combination of the two within the near future.
Although social media is a great way to mobilize extensive support and a channel to amplify the voices of those 'drowned out,' lasting political change will need to be grounded in organized movements, strategic planning, and institutional reform.
Lessons learned from the cases of the Arab Spring, Bangladesh, and the UK reiterate calls for nuanced thinking toward digital activism—acknowledging both the potentials and limitations.
In sum, social media and digital platforms undoubtedly served as powerful tools in the hands of activists seeking to challenge and topple regimes. How well one can negotiate these complexities of the digital age—which is increasingly blurring the line between liberation and control—will therefore give meaning to effectiveness.
BY LIPUN KUMAR
TEAM GEOSTRATA
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