Revolution 2.0

Revolution 2.0 “Streets to Screens”

“I can’t breathe”.

Three words. An estimated 50 million people mobilized. 

When the video of police officers kneeling on George Floyd’s neck was released, the entire world erupted. Tension over racially motivated police brutality had built up over years, beginning with the deaths of Tamir Rice, and Breonna Taylor. The entire world responded to the death of George Floyd, and the video grew into a movement that gathered momentum online.

As the world entered the 21st century and began to digitize, so did protest movements. People shifted their entire lives onto the internet, uploading everything from the birth of their children to their favorite restaurants, and protests have followed. With the increased use of social media platforms to boost messages, demonstrations have reached global proportions. The traditional forms of protesting–boycotts, sit-ins, rallies, and marches–have not completely disappeared; they have simply been adapted to better fit the cybernated world that we currently live in.

Organizing protests used to require copious amounts of work because physical recruitment was required. Instead of waiting for other protesters to find you, you had to create posters, talk to others, and hand out fliers. Then, once enough people mobilized, large groups would walk out onto the streets, recruited by word of mouth.

While marches still happen, the path to organized protests is far more efficient. One can gather audiences virtually, reaching anyone through the internet by uploading a photo or video. Through the digitized recruitment process, activism has become widespread, with marches happening simultaneously nationwide, even internationally. On January 21, 2017, over five million women gathered on the streets of cities all around the world to protest recently elected President Donald Trump with a total of 673 concurrent marches worldwide (Carnegie). 

However, the ability to mobilize wide audiences quickly is not without challenges. While physical demonstrations have gained from digitization, the internet has also become a breeding ground for extremism and false information. A 2016 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that around 64% of adults believe fake news, a continuous stream of falsehoods posted by extremists, including AI generated online content that creates false credibility (Barthel). 

As content online has become oversaturated and overwhelmingly polarized, the fundamental idea of protests has shifted. Instead of fighting for a cause or belief, protests can turn into opportunities to simply attack the other side. People begin to see larger social issues as personal battles, taking every chance, they must attack the opposition by leaking personal information from addresses to social security numbers. When doxxing replaces activism, it takes away from meaningful protest and creates a platform for revenge or harassment. 

It cannot be denied that the digital age has significantly transformed how activists can amplify voices and mobilize large groups in diverse locations. However, the rise of misinformation often interferes with the pursuit of meaningful change, and, as protests devolve into personal attacks, it is crucial that individuals interact cautiously with information, ensuring reliability before fully engaging in protests.

Works Cited

Barthel, Michael. “Many Americans Believe Fake News Is Sowing Confusion.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 15 Dec. 2016, www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2016/12/15/many-americans-believe-fake-news-is-sowing-confusion/.

Buchanan, Larry, et al. “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 July 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.

“Global Protest Tracker.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, carnegieendowment.org/features/global-protest-tracker?lang=en. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025. 

Kahne, Joseph, and Ellen Middaugh. “Digital Media Shapes Youth Participation in politics.” Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 94, no. 3, Nov. 2012, pp. 52–56, https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171209400312. 

Unver, H. Akin. “DIGITAL CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY: POLITICS OF AUTOMATION, ATTENTION, AND ENGAGEMENT.” Journal of International Affairs, vol. 71, no. 1, 2017, pp. 127–46. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26494368.