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University of Cincinnati UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Shaking Digital Fists: The Shape and Tactics of Internet-mediated Social Movement Groups A Thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment for the degree of Master’s of Arts In the Department of Communication Of the College of Arts and Sciences 2007 by Brian Austin Warner B.A. University of Cincinnati, 2003 Committee Chair: Dr. Steve Depoe ABSTRACT Electronic activism runs the gamut from interest cultivation, revenue generation, information dissemination, and membership generation to more disruptive "electronic civil disobedience." Examples of the latter include the Yes Men, who have use “parody- ware” to further their message, and Electronic Disturbance Theater’s use of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks and form floods that draw attention and publicity. This study conducted an ethnographic rhetorical analysis of three social movement groups, The Yes Men, ®™ark and Electronic Disturbance Theater, that actively utilize the Internet as their main vehicle of agitation. As these groups are not accounted for in classical and organizationally focused theories of social movements, Gerlach’s (2001) SPIN theory and Costanza-Chock’s (2003) repertoire of electronic contention were applied to the selected groups. It was found that all groups could be considered SPINs and were found to utilize one or more mode of contention as outline by Costanza-Chock. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Literature Review 2 Confrontational Organizational Approaches 2 SPIN 10 Strategies 14 Critique of Social Movement Literature 27 Literature Review Summary 31 Research Questions 31 Methods 32 ®™ark 33 The Yes Men 34 Electronic Disturbance Theater 36 Limitations 37 Study Overview 37 CHAPTER 2: ORGANIZATION 39 Spin Theory 39 Segments 39 Polycentric 44 Integrated Networks 47 Description of SMGs 54 ®™ark and the Yes Men 54 Electronic Disturbance Theater 57 Findings 60 STRATEGIES: CHAPTER 3 65 Electronic Civil Disobedience 67 Conventional Contention 67 Disruptive Contention 72 Violent Contention 80 Description 88 ®™ark 88 The Yes Men 91 Electronic Disturbance Theater 94 Findings 100 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION 104 Critique of Classical Theories 105 Future Indications for Internet Protest Groups 118 Conclusion and Future Research 126 REFERENCES 128 v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION On the night of Dec. 2nd and 3rd, 1984, a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, began leaking 27 tons of the deadly gas methyl isocyanate. None of the six safety systems designed to contain such a leak were operational, allowing the gas to spread throughout the city of Bhopal. Half a million people were exposed to the gas, and 20,000 have died to date as a result of their exposure. In 2001, Michigan-based chemical corporation Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide, thereby acquiring its assets and liabilities. However, Dow Chemical steadfastly refused to clean up the site, provide safe drinking water, compensate the victims, or disclose the composition of the gas leak, information that doctors could use to properly treat the victims (www.bhopal.org). In November of 2004, an activist group known as the Yes Men registered the domain www.dowethics.com, a parody of Dow Chemical’s website, which is still currently live and accessible. The site design is almost identical to Dow’s corporate website, www.dow.com, the editorial content being the only difference. On November 29 of the same year, BBC World Television sent an email to www.dowethics.com in error, requesting a Dow representative appear on the newscast to discuss the company's position on the 1984 Bhopal incident. The BBC, unaware that it had contacted the Yes Men in error, scheduled an interview with who they thought was a Dow spokesperson. At 9:00am GMT, on December 4, 2004, the BBC aired a report in which a Dow spokesperson appeared to make the following announcement: Dow would accept full responsibility for the Bhopal disaster, and had a $12 billion dollar plan to compensate the victims and remediate the site by liquidating Union Carbide. Additionally, this spokesperson suggested that Dow would push for the extradition of Warren Anderson, former Union Carbide CEO, to India to face criminal charges (theyesmen.org). The Yes Men illustrate a growing phenomenon of social movement groups that utilize modern electronic media, such as the Internet, as their main mode of agitation. It is the assertion of this thesis that classical social movement theories do not adequately describe the emerging trend of agitators utilizing electronic media as their primary mode of contention. As such, the current paper examines ways in which social movement groups utilize electronic media as tools of agitation. It aims to do so by applying and expanding on Gerlach’s (2001) SPIN concept of social movement organizational methods and Costanza-Chock’s (1993) concept of electronic civil disobedience through several case studies of contemporary activist organizations while reflecting on critiques of organizationally focused movement theory. This chapter begins with an overview of social movement literature, focusing first on social movement group organizational styles and strategies and then on criticisms of classical social movement theory. It will then turn to the methodology of the study, followed by research questions, limitations and a preview of subsequent chapters. Literature Review Confrontational Organizational Approaches Inherent in social movement group (SMG) definitions furthered by many scholars is the concept of a linear, organizational structure that mirrors those found in bureaucratic organizations. These definitions typically feature a leader, a specific organizational purpose, and often focus on both resource acquisition and a linear life path as prerequisites for success. Specifically, Zald and Ash (1966), who apply organizational 2 theories to the study of social movements, suggest that the “success or failure of the [social movement organization] can be highly dependent on the qualities and commitment of the leadership cadre and tactics they use” (p. 338). In perhaps the most widely cited example, Simons (1970) views social movement organizations through a leadership/organizational lens. According to Simons (1970), the leader-centered conception of a social movement is based both on sociological theory and on organizational theory, in that social movements follow similar organizational structures as more “formal” collectives do (i.e. governmental agencies, corporations, etc.). According to Simons, “a social movement is not a formal structure, but is nevertheless is obligated to fulfill parallel functions. Like the heads of private corporations or government agencies, the leaders of social movements must meet a number of rhetorical requirements” (p. 3). According to Simons (1970), these leadership requirements include attracting and maintaining a following, selling the movement’s message to established masses and the movement’s following, and reacting to oppression from establishment forces. To further strengthen his analysis of SMG’s, Simons suggests that these leadership requirements generate five rhetorical problems. First, leaders must often exaggerate or conceal the actions and rhetoric of the movement both internally and externally. Better said, leaders often must be ambiguous in their communication to their own constituency and to the outside (media, establishment, etc.). Leaders must also combat bureaucracy and organizational discombobulation within their organization. Since members of a social movement want to participate in decision making and activism strategies, it is the leader’s mission to keep everyone in line and on task. Members look to the leader for guidance and direction when there is often no clear course of action. In 3 addition, the leader must also be able to adapt and react to messages across multiple types of media. As such, a social movement behaves much the same way corporations do, at least from this organizational perspective. For example, scholars Hackman and Johnson (2000) define leadership as “symbolic communication which modifies the attitudes and behaviors of others in order to meet shared group goals and needs” (p.12). Specifically, Hackman and Johnson list six primary mechanisms a leader uses to manage an organization’s climate: emphasizing the underlying values of an organization, reacting to critical incidents, allocating resources, role modeling, awarding rewards, and selecting the correct followers (pp. 241-243). All six of these are congruent with Simons’ conception of an SMG: leadership, rhetorical requirements, and the problems that necessarily need be addressed by them. That said, by placing an emphasis on a single- leader theory, Simons necessarily likens social movement groups to contemporary corporations and government agencies. This sentiment is echoed more contemporaneously by Stewart, Smith, and Denton (2001), who suggest that social movements may differ in their level of organization, but they must be “at least minimally organized,” have identifiable leaders, members, and organizational coalitions (p.
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