10/14/25, 10:42 AM The power of online protest - University of Amsterdam Online on the streets? To an outsider, a demonstration in a public square may seem very different from an online protest. Yet, according to Sastramidjaja, street protests and online actions have much in common. ‘Protest is always a public act,’ she explains. ‘In the streets you see people with banners, online it happens in a digital space. The fact that you cannot see the people does not make it any less real.’ Arab Spring and Occupy Movement Arab Spring: The Arab Spring was a wave of uprisings and revolutions that began in the Arab world in early 2010. The protests, calling for more democracy, social justice, and economic opportunities, quickly spread to multiple countries. Occupy Movement: The Occupy movement was a international protest movement against inequality. The first protests began on 17 September 2011 with Occupy Wall Street and were inspired by the revolutions in the Arab world. How online activism emerged Sastramidjaja has been studying youth protests in Southeast Asia for years. At first, she focused on demonstrations in the streets, but with the rise of social media, her attention shifted towards digital activism. ‘Protests are increasingly being prepared online. The Arab Spring and the Occupy movement showed the world how social media can strengthen and accelerate protests. Youth movements once again found ways to reach one another.’ Van hashtag tot massabeweging Online protest lijkt in veel opzichten op een fysieke demonstratie. Het op de been krijgen van een mensenmassa, het gezamenlijk uiten van emoties en het verspreiden van een politieke boodschap. Waar je op straat een leus scandeert, die door de groep demonstranten wordt herhaald, verspreidt online een hashtag zich razendsnel, over landsgrenzen heen. Dat laatste is kenmerkend voor online activisme: het is snel en grenzeloos. Een voordeel van online acties is dat iedereen zijn eigen draai kan geven aan de boodschap. Door een tekst, afbeelding of emoji toe te voegen, voelt het protest persoonlijker. Dat vergroot de betrokkenheid. K-poppers in action A successful protest action requires careful preparation. Sastramidjaja explains that activists often choose a specific moment to share a hashtag extensively so it goes viral. It becomes trending topic and reaches a global audience. ‘In the last recent years in Asia, online protests reach specific groups who normally not engage with 2/5