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Kladversie mass mobilisation

Social media
(Old) Social media and the Internet have made mass mobilization easier to organize and disseminate ideas. [5] The Internet has grown in political importance, and has played a significant role in many mass mobilization efforts.[6] Other scholars are not sure about the positive impact of social media on mass mobilisation. Social media can be used by authoritarian regimes to find protestors and punish them. [7]

(New) The effect of social media on mass mobilization can both be negative and positive. Cyberoptimists believe social media make protests easier to organize. Political ideas spread quickly on social media and everyone can participate in online political actions. Ruijgruk identified four mechanisms the internet helps mobilizing people in authoritarian regimes.


 * It reduces the risks of the opposition. To be politically active online is less risky than to be active on the streets. The opposition can meet online and organize protests without having to meet in a physical place.


 * It can change the attitude of the citizens. When news independent from the government can spread online, people will get a more honest image of their government. On the long term, even people who are satisfied with their life can become politically active and be mobilized to protest against the regime.
 * It reduces uncertainty for individuals. When people see a lot of people will be attending the protests, people are more inclined to join. The risk of getting punished is lower when there are a lot of people at te protests.
 * Dramatic videos and pictures will reach more people if they are shared online. People who get to see those images are more inclined to join the protests.

Cyberpessimists point to the effect these online actions have. By liking or sharing a political post, someone might think they are politically active, but they are not really doing anything effective. This useless activism, or slactivism does not contribute to the overall goal of the social movement. Is also increases the collective action problem. Someone might think they already contributed to the cause, you so they less likely to go to a physical protest.

Social media is also used by states in order to check society. Authoritarian states use social media to track and punish activists and political opponents. There are several ways to do this. State led internet providers can use a monopoly position to provide information about internet behaviour to secret services. These providers can also shut down the internet if the government faces mass mobilization, what happened in the Arab Spring.

To evade the government online, people can use a Virtual private network or encrypted online massaging services like WhatsApp.

Mass mobilization for social movements
Social movements are groups that protest against social or political issues. Different social movements try to make the public and politicians aware of different social problems. For social movements it is important to solve collective action problems. When social movements protest for something in the interest of the whole society, it is easier for the individual to not protest. The individual will benefit the outcome, but will not risk anything by participating in the protest. This is also known as the free-rider problem. Social movements must convince people to join the movement to solve this problem.

Examples
Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam war, supporters and opponents of the war mobilized for protests. Social movements against the war were groups of students or veterans. These groups did not believe the war was justified and that the United States had to pull out the troops stationed there. To counter these protests, president Richard Nixon addressed the 'silent majority', the people who did support the war, to organize counter protests supporting the war.

Yellow vests movement is a social movement originated in Paris. The protests started when president Emmanuel Macron announced a fuel tax increase. Protesters saw this as a tax on the working class, the people in the countryside who have to drive to work. At first, the movement was successful. A lot of people joined and a majority of the population supported it. After the first weeks, the movement fell apart and some factions became violent. The number of protesters and support of the population decreased.