2021/11/10 by Jessica L. Beyer · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Computer Science · Psychology · #Social Media and Politics #Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection #Misinformation and Its Impacts #Affordance #Collective action #Social movement #Politics #Sociology #Media studies #Conversation #Cultural studies #Action (physics) #Collective identity #Social media #Social movement theory #Political science #The Internet #Communication #Psychology #Law #World Wide Web #Anthropology
paper · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197510636.013.47
published in Oxford University Press eBooks, 417-442 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2021/11/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Online communities have long been the sites of political mobilization. Work on these communities in relation to politics sits at the intersection of the study of social movements broadly as well as hacktivism specifically; anthropological and cultural studies of online culture, including trolling; and work focused on the affordances of social platforms. Drawing on four linked cases of online community mobilization—4chan and trolling culture, Anonymous, Gamergate, and the 2016 US presidential election—the author discusses this varied theory and its ability to contribute to the understanding of online communities as a political and social phenomenon. The author illustrates that there are distinct repertoires of contention that emerged from 4chan prior to 2008 that subsequent movements refined and adapted. The author argues that 4chan’s affordances created a cultural identity that was durable, with shared discourse, affirmation of group values, and a history of collective action that served as a base for mobilization. These modes of collective action, including organized harassment, have since been adopted by a range of political actors. Future research should address questions of movement durability, emergence, and the interplay between internet affordances and offline contexts.