A riveting firsthand account and incisive analysis of modern
protest, revealing internet-fueled social movements’ greatest strengths
and frequent challenges.
Could the ability to organize massive protests quickly on Facebook
and Twitter be making those protests vulnerable in the long term? If new
technologies are so empowering, why are so many movements failing to
curb authoritarianism’s rise? Is a glut of misinformation more effective
censorship than directly forbidding speech? Why are so many of today’s
movements leaderless?
Zeynep Tufekci answers these questions and more, speaking from
direct experience and combining on-the-ground observations with
insightful analysis. She explains the role the internet played in the
Zapatista uprisings in Mexico, the power of remote Twitter users to
organize medical supplies during the Arab Spring, the refusal to use
bullhorns in the Occupy Movement that started in New York, and the
empowering effect of tear gas in Istanbul’s Gezi Park. She also looks at
how governments have responded to the rise of digital tools with their
own methods, including misinformation, distraction, and surveillance.
Her observations from life inside social movements complete a moving
investigation of politics, technology, and culture—and offer essential
and surprising insights into the public sphere and future of governance
in the 21st century.
Reviews
If you’re interested in what’s happening in the world today, this book is a fascinating read. Even if you’re not, it's an unusually informative
book about digital platforms usually examined apart from political
life. Social interactions in the digital world in the context of
political activity is insightfully explored through this wonderfully readable academic study.
This insightful and analytical account of mass protest in the 21st century
focuses on the “intertwined” power and weaknesses of new technologies
that can be used to galvanize large numbers of people. … This comprehensive, thought-provoking work
makes a valuable contribution to understanding recent political
developments and provides a clear path by which grassroots organizers
can improve future efforts.
It is Tufekci’s personal experience in the squares and
streets, melded with her scholarly insights on technology and
communication platforms, that makes “Twitter and Tear Gas” such an unusual and illuminating work…
A work that will be long cited — and deservedly so — by activists,
technologists and others grasping at the relationship between our causes
and our screens. “Twitter and Tear Gas” is a book that, superimposed on a seemingly familiar landscape, utterly transforms the view.
The author is also insightful on how governments and
politicians are moving from censorship, no easy task on social media, to
attention-grabbing and misinformation. “Just as attention is
under-appreciated as a resource for social movements, distractions and
ignorance are under-appreciated as methods of repression through denial
of attention,” she writes. Sowing cynicism is a powerful tool against
protest: “If everything is in doubt, while the world is run by secret
cabals that successfully manipulate everything behind the scenes, why
bother?” … “Twitter and Tear Gas” is packed with evidence on how
social media has changed social movements, based on rigorous research
and placed in historical context.
A striking and original conclusion: today’s low barrier
for organizing a movement can also lead to its long-term frustrations.
Tufekci’s superb book will define the debate on social protest for years
to come.
Dani Rodrik, author of “Economic Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science”
Tufekci is undoubtedly the most qualified person in the
world to explain the meaning of political collective actions catalyzed
and coordinated by social media. She knows the technology, the social
science, and the politics—and she is the rare academic observer who was
at the scene, from Istanbul to Cairo to New York.
Howard Rheingold, author of “Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution”
Incisive and illuminating, Tufekci’s book arrives at the
perfect moment, right when we desperately need our activism to become
smarter and more effective than ever before, or else.
Astra Taylor, author of “The People’s Platform: Taking Back
Power and Culture in the Digital Age” and co-founder of the Debt
Collective
There have been many lessons for social movements since I
spoke to crowds in Tahrir Square who had gathered after a call on a
Facebook page I had launched. This incisive, unique, and timely
book—brimming with stories and insightful analyses of protest
movements—offers a much-needed perspective on politics and protest in
the digital age.
Wael Ghonim, activist and author of “Revolution 2.0”
Tufekci understands 21st-century protest movements both
as a scholar and as a participant, from the Arab Spring to Zucotti Park.
In “Twitter and Tear Gas”, she merges her experiences into a singularly
brilliant examination of how movements work and when they don’t.
Clay Shirky, author of “Here Comes Everybody” and “Cognitive Surplus”
Informative and exciting read! Tufekci is in the perfect
spot between activist and researcher to provide insights that only few
can. This book sets new grounds for the analysis of social media and
political mobilization.
Rasha Abdulla, author of “The Internet in the Arab World: Egypt and Beyond”
Many have asked why people rebel, but few describe how.
Here, Tufekci uses firsthand observation to offer an intelligent and
informed examination of the tools and nature of today’s political
protests.
Vali Nasr, author of “The Dispensable Nation” and “The Shia Revival”
A brilliant work. In a world of tweet-sized summary
judgments, Tufekci provides readers with a depth of analysis and
important insights that ought to be read by every diplomat and activist.
Alec Ross, former Senior Advisor for Innovation, U.S. Department of State
For all the claims that new technologies afford
grassroots movements new power, research on the topic is rare. Tufekci’s
book provides just that—and a cautionary conclusion.
Doug McAdam, author of “Deeply Divided: Racial Politics and Social Movements in Postwar America”
About Zeynep
Zeynep in Gezi Park, Istanbul during the 2013 protests,
wearing a helmet as protection from the tear gas canisters that were
flying around.
Zeynep’s work explores the interactions between technology and
society. She started her career as a programmer, and switched to social
science after getting interested in social impacts of technology.
Zeynep, who grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, and came to the United States
for graduate school, is now an associate professor at the University of
North Carolina and a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times.
She’s currently also a faculty associate at the Harvard Berkman Klein
Center for Internet and Society. Previously, she was an Andrew Carnegie
Fellow, a fellow at Princeton University Center for Information
Technology, and an assistant professor of sociology at UMBC.
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