People, protests, and tech

Very late to this watch party, but after three months discovered a programme I did with renowned journalist Hari Sreenivasan‘s YouTube series, ‘Take on Fake‘.

Hari’s a journalist I admire hugely, and followed for well over a decade. It was an absolute treat to finally speak with him.

We talked a lot, and in the cut that made it to YouTube, observed the dual nature of social media when it comes to protests. I noted that while social media has the potential to democratise access to information and amplify smaller voices, it can also be used as a tool by governments to silence dissent and promote specific narratives.

In my experience, this interplay between silencing, and amplification occurs simultaneously, with the architecture, and algorithms of social media platforms often (and counter-intuitively) favouring the suppression of democratic voices, and the promotion of authoritarian ones.

I flagged similarities between protest movements worldwide, such as Black Lives Matter in the United States and the unprecedented 2022 aragalaya struggle in Sri Lanka. These movements effectively adopted, and adapted various social media platform, and product features, Google Maps, satire, art, poetry, and multimedia content to share their stories and messages in ways that were difficult to control the growth, or constrain the spread of. However, I noted governments now also employ sophisticated tactics to dilute the impact of these movements, such as co-opting popular hashtags and flooding platforms with their own content to seed, and spread confusion.

Looking ahead, I said both protest movements and activists will increasingly embrace the full spectrum of technologies, including generative AI, for purposes of dissent. At the same time, I anticipated how authoritarian states will also grasp these technologies to further their own autocratic purposes. I said this “cat and mouse game” between activists and governments will continue to shape the landscape of protest narratives in the digital age.