Over the past decades, social movement scholars have become increasingly interested in the connections between digital technologies and activism. From listservs, websites, and email communication during the global justice movements of the late 1990s to the extensive use of social media in pro-democracy movements such as the Arab Spring, 15-M (Spain), Umbrella (Hong Kong), and Sunflower (Taiwan), among many others, these technologies have played a pivotal role.
Despite their differing political and geographical contexts, all these examples illustrate how technologies have become deeply embedded in social movements, raising ethical, methodological, and theoretical challenges. Digital technologies, for instance, not only support collective action but also shape the meanings and identities of social movements. Social media can go beyond transmitting or reinforcing collective identity—it can actively shape the political identity of movements.
Contemporary challenges for digital activists include incorporating algorithms into their repertoire, combating misinformation and hate speech, and navigating the relationship between digital tools and radical politics aimed at achieving social change. These issues present significant challenges for researchers studying digital activism. What theoretical approaches can we employ? What methods should we adopt? What are the ethical considerations? The upcoming activity will address these pressing questions.
Against this backdrop, the project organized a two-day seminar on digital activism research at Aarhus University in May 2023, with a special focus on algorithms and contested data in social movements. The seminar aimed to equip researchers with a practical toolbox for addressing the challenges of studying digital technologies and social movements while fostering collaboration and building research networks with leading international scholars.
