How Protesters and Official Sources Used Chat Apps

Simon Cottle observed: “Protests and demonstrations today have become reflexively conditioned by their pursuit of media attention, and need to be if they are to get their message across and mobilize wider support …Certainly today’s media ecology offers new political opportunities for protest organizations, activists and their supporters to communicate independently of mainstream news media.”⁴⁰

Our findings point to a similar trend. Beyond the general uptick in the use of chat apps across all demographics, it was younger people—themselves digital natives comfortable with using chat apps as their primary means of communication—who instigated and led the Hong Kong protests. As their actions forced a response from those institutions where an older demographic holds decisive power—the government, the police, and the media—these stakeholders had to adapt quickly to technological platforms and habits which otherwise would have shifted more slowly, on a generational scale. For example, student leaders drafted statements in response to certain events, putting them out on a public Facebook page and private WhatsApp groups for journalists. Emailed statements came later, or never. Meanwhile, some government bodies still using fax machines and dependent on newspapers, radio, and television to release their messages were behind. As the protests developed, and even after they ended, pro-government individuals and others opposed to the protesters’ message began developing media platforms and social media practices, including the use of chat apps, to engage the protesters more directly and swiftly. What is striking about this interplay is the extent to which chat apps became so quickly normalized in political discourse and reporting. While the initial impetus came from a tech-savvy protest leadership, the widespread popularity and functionalities of chat apps sustained the conversation.