Protesters Are Using Old Tools in New Ways

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- After the Sudanese military toppled dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April, it turned its attention to a new opponent: protesters demanding a civilian government. In a bid to cut off activists’ ability to communicate with one another and the outside world, leaders ordered the country’s internet shut down. This, they thought, would also shut down the movement.

Instead, organizers communicated via handwritten notes, couriers, and face-to-face meetings—all time-honored tactics from the pre-internet age. By early July, internet access was restored, and on Aug. 4 the two sides agreed on a transition to civilian rule.

Since the 2011 Arab Spring, it’s been difficult to talk about civil unrest without considering the catalyzing role of social media and the web. But in the political protests dominating global headlines this summer—from northern Africa to Russia, from Latin America to Asia—organizers are using physical tools as much as digital ones to propel and sustain their uprisings.

This is in part because the same technological advances that made it possible to mass millions of people in the streets of Cairo have also enabled increasingly sophisticated government surveillance. “If we look at movements and governments as engaged in a contest, you expect to see a cycle of innovation and counter-innovation,” says Hardy Merriman, president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, based in Washington. “What we’re seeing now is an incredible cycle of counter-innovation, and a lot of people are watching.”

Encrypted messaging apps, social media mobilizing, and livestreaming have all done their part this time around. But organizers have learned that it doesn’t take technology to disrupt train service, snarl traffic, or create a striking image. —With Gregory Viscusi, William Turton, Jake Rudnitsky, and Patricia Laya

Uniforms

French drivers are required to keep yellow safety vests in their cars to make themselves visible in the event of a roadside breakdown. When commuters rose up to protest a gasoline tax proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, the gilets jaunes were already at hand. A uniform signals solidarity and makes it harder for police to distinguish any individual activist. It also creates an instantly recognizable visual emblem—very useful for media coverage.

Telegram

The app of choice for political resistance doesn’t offer the end-to-end encryption of WhatsApp or Signal. But Telegram does provide useful features for organizers, including group chats that can accommodate as many as 200,000 users, and a ready-made poll function to gauge collective opinion. Telegram was Hong Kong’s seventh-most downloaded app in July, with 110,000 new users.

Click counters

Governments under pressure have every incentive to minimize the scope of dissent, and they often downplay the size of mass demonstrations. To refute the police figures, a Russian group called White Counter has volunteers count everyone who passes through official entry points. “The police figures are used for propaganda, which long ago divorced from reality,” says a volunteer coordinator for the group. “Independent media began to trust our figures.”

Buckets

Tear gas—banned in war, along with other chemical and biological weapons—is legal as a crowd-control measure in peacetime. But as police have become more comfortable using it, protesters have gotten better at protecting themselves. Demonstrators in Caracas often carry plastic buckets to cover a tear gas canister and contain the gas. Someone wearing gloves can then run over, scoop up the canister, and throw or kick it back at the government’s troops.

Laser pointers

By some estimates, Hong Kong has 50,000 closed-captioned TV cameras trained on public areas. Protesters have long worn masks and bandannas to avoid recognition, but they’ve also begun waving laser pointers and flashlights to make the footage harder to decipher. The erratic light show has the added benefit of disorienting and annoying police.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jillian Goodman at jgoodman74@bloomberg.net

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