It was a "Facebook revolution": Exploring the meme-like spread of narratives during the Egyptian protests. Fue una "Revolución de Facebook": Explorando la narrativa de los meme difundidos durante las protestas egipcias. Summer Harlow1 Recibido el 14 de mayo de 2013- Aceptado el 22 de julio de 2013 ABSTRACT: Considering online social media’s importance in the Arab Spring, this study is a preliminary exploration of the spread of narratives via new media technologies. Via a textual analysis of Facebook comments and traditional news media stories during the 2011 Egyptian uprisings, this study uses the concept of “memes” to move beyond dominant social movement paradigms and suggest that the telling and re-telling, both online and offline, of the principal narrative of a “Facebook revolution” helped involve people in the protests. Keywords: Activism, digital media, Egypt, social media, social movements. RESUMEN: Éste es un estudio preliminar sobre el rol desempeñado por un estilo narrativo de los medios sociales, conocido como meme, durante la primavera árabe. Para ello, realiza un análisis textual de los principales comentarios e historias vertidas en Facebook y retratadas en los medios tradicionales, durante las protestas egipcias de 2011. En concreto, este trabajo captura los principales “memes” de esta historia, en calidad de literatura principal de este movimiento social y analiza cómo el contar y el volver a contar estas historias, tanto en línea como fuera de línea, se convirtió en un estilo narrativo de la “revolución de Facebook” que ayudó a involucrar a la gente en la protesta. Palabras claves: Activismo, medios digitales, Egipto, medios sociales, movimientos sociales. 1. Introduction movements, with protesters and social movement actors often creating their Storytelling and narratives long have own stories to counteract the lack of been an integral part of social stories, or negative stories, about them 1 Summer Harlow is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Austin and a journalist with more than 10 years of experience. Her research explores the intersections of journalism, activism, and new technologies, especially in Latin America. Her recent research has been published in New Media & Society, Journalism, and the International Journal of [email protected]. Revista de Comunicación 12, 2013 59 Summer Harlow in the mainstream press (Gitlin, 1980; further exploration of the role of McLeod & Hertog, 1999). Even as narratives and new media technologies social movements attempt to shape in activism, especially since, as Polletta media coverage, the media coverage (1998) noted, employing a narrative shapes the movements themselves, lens can lead to a better understanding with the media and movements in an of the mobilization that occurs before a ever-interacting relationship (Gitlin, revolution, as well as the consolidation 1980; Wolfsfeld, 1997). Within social of a social movement. As such, this movement literature, storytelling has study examines the role of online and been shown to be useful for creating a offline storytelling during the sense of shared identity, and for Egyptian uprisings of 2011, exploring mobilizing people to action by making how protesters and supporters shared activism seem normative, or at the their stories online via Facebook, and very least, attractive (Davis, 2002; how those same stories eventually Polletta, 2002). Bell (2010) referred to made their way into mainstream the importance of storytelling for media, enticing people to protest. uncovering biases; for creating new ways of looking at things; for resisting, Using the concept of “memes” or challenging, the status quo; and for (Dawkins, 1976), which refers to the working toward social change. viral spread of ideas, this study qualitatively examines the discourse of Framing also is an important part of Egyptian protesters and the news storytelling for a social movement, as it media to consider how social media aids in the construction of meaning by were used for storytelling, replicating helping the audience – including and virally spreading a narrative that potential supporters – understand who helped create the conditions for is the hero, what is the problem, and uprisings not just in Egypt, but what are potential solutions (Benford throughout the Arab world. A textual & Snow, 2000; Entman, 1993). In analysis of two of the most-active today’s Digital Era of online social Egyptian dissident Facebook pages, as media, storytelling has stepped into a well as protest-related articles from Al new collective dimension, affording Jazeera English and The New York Times, social movements a seemingly endless was used to probe the discursive number of contributing authors, narratives that emerged to create a platforms, and even audience shared story that helped form a members. The use of online social collective “we” and, arguably, bring media during the Arab Spring, the people to the streets in protest in Indignados movement in Spain, and Egypt and beyond. This study suggests the Occupy Wall Street movement in that an approach that takes into the United States hint at a new form of account narratives and technology and space for storytelling, demanding must be applied in order to better 60 Revista de Comunicación 12, 2013 It was a Facebook revolution”: Exploring the meme-like spread of narratives during the Egyptian protests (59-82) understand how protest movements and tell them to come… Go spread. An approach focusing on the down to the street. Send SMSes. importance of narratives and their role Post it on the net. Make people in creating normative action (Polletta, aware. (Goodman, 2011) 2002) is especially important in light of the abundance of agenda-setting For the next week, Mahfouz, one of research that shows the media not only the founders of the April 6 Youth influence what the public thinks about, Movement, a group credited with but also how the public thinks about helping organize the 2011 uprising, something (McCombs, 2004). Also, this used social media to spread the word, study will show why existing social uploading videos to YouTube even as movement paradigms are inadequate exhortations to protest went viral on to explain what happened in Egypt. As Facebook and Twitter. Then on this study suggests, it was the January 25, dubbed the “Day of Rage,” contagious replication of a narrative hundreds of thousands of Egyptians on Facebook and in traditional media took over Cairo’s Tahrir Square, that helped bring protesters to the protesting against the 30-year streets in protest. autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak. Fed up with poverty, hunger, 1.1 Egyptian dissidents online unemployment, and police brutality, On January 18, 2011, one week before the demonstrators continued the streets of Cairo erupted in protest, relentlessly for 18 days until February 26-year-old Egyptian activist Asmaa 11, 2011, when Mubarak resigned as Mahfouz uploaded a video to YouTube president (Asser, 2011; Abdelhadi, and Facebook, calling on Egyptians to 2011). join her in protest at Tahrir Square on January 25. Looking into the camera, The Egyptian revolution came on the her face veiled, she called for online heels of the successful uprising in and offline action: Tunisia, where Facebook was used to help mobilize protests and force If you think yourself a man, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to come with me on January 25th. flee the country (Madrigal, 2011). The Whoever says women shouldn’t so-called “Arab Spring” of 2011 go to protests because they will (Khalidi, 2011), inspired by the get beaten, let him have some successful revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, honor and manhood and come saw protests spread throughout the with me on January 25th… Your Arab world. Despite varying degrees of presence with us will make a Internet access in each of these difference, a big difference. Talk countries, social media like Facebook to your neighbors, your and Twitter were lauded as colleagues, friends and family, instrumental in helping organize, even Revista de Comunicación 12, 2013 61 Summer Harlow incite, this regional wave of protests rooted, political challenges by (Attia et al., 2011) that cannot aggrieved groups” (Buechler, 2000, adequately be explained by the 35). dominant paradigms of social movement literature, suggesting a 2.3 Political Opportunity need to move beyond traditional social The political opportunity, or political movement approaches and further process model, is based on two basic explore the role of the Internet and premises: that social movements are a storytelling in protest movements. political, not psychological, phenomenon, and that social 2. Social Movement Paradigms movements are a process (McAdam, 2000). Broad social and economic 2.1 Collective Behaviorists processes, whether a change in Della Porta and Diani (1999) outlined demographics or a shift in political four perspectives in social movement power, are seen as giving challengers theory: collective behavior, resource leverage and creating an opportunity mobilization, political process, and new for a social movement to form social movements. During the late (McAdam, 2000). The nation state is 1800s and early 1900s, collective what creates the opportunity structure behaviorists saw collective behavior, or (Tarrow, 1994). protests, as a response to grievances, structural change, or a disturbance of 2.4 New Social Movements and the social order (Blumer, 1939; Le Framing Bon, 1896). For Le Bon (1896), The New Social Movement (NSM) collective behavior was spontaneous, theory examines social movements as irrational, unconscious, and culture- and identity-based struggles unrestrained. (Melucci, 1996). Unlike the political process model, NSM is about identity 2.2 Resource Mobilization construction, and the state is not Viewing it as a mistake to pathologize necessarily targeted. NSM theory is protesters, resource mobilization used to explain identity- or culture- scholars moved away from the idea of based movements that began emerging collective behaviorism, abandoning in the l990s, such as the Zapatistas in any role emotions might play and Mexico or the anti-globalization/ emphasizing instead the collective’s anti-neoliberalism movement.