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I think it's simplistic to point to Facebook as instrumental in these instances of unrest. Sure, they were used as an instrument of communication but had Facebo

I think it's simplistic to point to Facebook as instrumental in these instances of unrest. Sure, they were used as an instrument of communication but had Facebook not been there people would just use SMS or IRC. The 2002 Gujarat unrest, for instance, predates Facebook. We know what deadly unrest still forms in the absence of Facebook and other social media. I don't think we have evidence to claim that social media exacerbates unrest, versus the simple fact that more people are on social media and it's becoming a more popular communication tool than SMS.

acdha 6y ago
There are some key differences: Facebook/Twitter/YouTube don’t just send messages, they also chooses which ones to promote to a wide audience. SMS only spreads if I know your number and think to add you. IRC only spreads if I choose to connect to a server and join a channel. In contrast, Facebook will promote things to you unprompted and will use your friends’ names and pictures to promote them. YouTube will suggest videos and start playing them automatically (there was a time where almost any gaming related video would get unhinged anti-feminist rants next because the guys who were outraged by Anita Sarkeesian’s existence showed high engagement numbers and the ad maximization algorithm suggested other things they liked). This is why Trump et al. are so outraged like this. He’s a millionaire and could afford his own copy of WordPress but that won’t come with a free recruitment machine.