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Yellow Vest Protests
Using change.org petitions and Facebook groups, French citizens organized protests against rising fuel prices, which later exploded into popular rage against Emmanuel Macron and neoliberalism more broadly. These protests united people who did not participate in the traditional political organizations and methods, such as voting. -
The Rise of Russian Disinformation
Kremlin propaganda intensifies, using new tools such as deepfaked videos, AI generated portraits for fake journalists and large networks of bots. These tools are used to great effect in the Donbass region of Ukraine and also within the United States. -
Christchurch Mosque Shootings
Radicalized by the /pol/ forum on the imageboard 8chan, a neo-Nazi enters a two mosques and opens fire, killing 51 people and injuring an additional 49. This shooting was livestreamed, with viewers urging the shooter on, and the shooter critiquing his own work to his followers. This shooting would get spread around far-right social media spaces, inspiring other neo-Nazi terrorists, such as the El Paso mass shooter. -
Hong Kong Protests
Sparked by an unpopular extradition bill, Hongkongers take to the streets in protest against mainland Chinese authority, surveillance and censorship. Through Twitter, Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook and other programs, autonomous groups coordinated to keep the protests going in the face of repression. -
Lebanese Protests
With Lebanese prices and taxes on cellular data being incredibly high, WhatsApp was the main source of communication. A potential tax bill on WhatsApp caused an explosion of protests and riots in the streets, coordinated through WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
