New research from the University of Kansas reveals that social media failed to bridge divides during Algeria’s 2019 Hirak protests, amplifying existing gender biases and violence against women despite unified goals.
Since its inception, social media has often been promoted as a unifying force, capable of rallying individuals to collaborate on revolutionary causes. However, research from the University of Kansas suggests that social media might not always serve this purpose, especially when participants do not perceive each other as equals, even if they share common goals.
In 2019, millions across Algeria participated in Hirak, a massive protest sparked by President Abd Alaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term. The protests saw significant participation on social media, particularly Facebook, which is the most popular platform in Algeria.
University of Kansas researchers interviewed over 30 Algerian women involved in Hirak to understand how social media influenced their efforts to advocate for women’s rights.
“Hirak happened in part because people were afraid to talk about issues in Algeria,” lead author Rim Chaif, a KU doctoral candidate, said in a news release. “People were afraid to go in the street and speak about their rights. So when it started, Algerians broke the silence of many years by protesting.”
Chaif, along with Christopher Etheridge, an assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, conducted the study, which is published in the journal Social Media + Society. Their research found a dichotomy: although social media helped feminists to connect and refine their messages, it also exacerbated societal violence and oppression against women.
During the Hirak protests, various factions, including liberals and feminist groups, united to call for change, albeit with their own distinct demands. Feminists, for example, pushed for family code reforms and the abolition of restrictive laws. However, these demands often clashed with more traditional social thoughts, both offline and online.
“During Hirak, there were various groups, including liberals and feminist groups, each with their own demands,” Chaif added. “Despite their differences, they were united in calling for a change. However, each group wanted its demands to be incorporated in the broader Hirak agenda.”
Chaif’s study noted that, even on digital platforms, feminists faced significant pushback. Respondents recounted being dismissed with remarks like, “women should stay home, why are they even out protesting?” This online hostility mirrored the violence and marginalization feminists encountered offline.
“There is a Western idea of bringing people together to talk about their differences and identify the ways that they have commonalities, and so a lot of scholars have wondered if those principles can be applied digitally,” Etheridge said in the news release. “And given that those are really predominant topics in Western thought about how to build democracy, can they be applied in the Middle East and North Africa?”
The study highlights a fundamental challenge in employing social media for democratic reforms: the existing societal structures and inherent biases. While social media can connect people with similar goals, these platforms also perpetuate existing inequalities and biases.
“That was a really powerful quote that we thought illustrated this idea that you can bring people together if those people perceive each other as equals, but in this situation, one group did not perceive the other as equals, and they knew it,” Etheridge added. “Negotiating with somebody who doesn’t see you sharing common ground is very difficult. And so, incorporating the feminists’ platform into this broader demonstration required overcoming a level of misogyny that wasn’t moving.”
The insights gained from the experiences of Algerian women during Hirak suggest that connective democracy and other deliberative democratic efforts need to account for the prevailing state structures and social dynamics.
Chaif plans to expand her research to examine other groups involved in Hirak to further explore how social media, technology and societal strategies interplay in the pursuit of change.
“Connective democracy and other deliberative democratic efforts must consider the state and nature of the existing state structures before deploying these strategies,” the authors wrote. “Simply stated, coalitions constructed through common identity and network building are not as connective in environments where minority voices are structurally marginalized.”
This study underscores that while social media holds promise as a tool for collective action, its effectiveness is often complicated by existing societal prejudices and power dynamics.
Source: University of Kansas