Desbordando hashtags de Twitter: La protesta digital k-pop en el Paro Nacional de 2021 en Colombia

Andres Lombana-Bermudez; Sergio Rodriguez Gomez

doi:10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.12803

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Overflowing Hashtags on Twitter: K-Pop Digital Protests within the Context of the 2021 National Strike in Colombia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.12803

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Published: Jul 11, 2023

Issue: Vol. 16 No. 2 (2023): Public Communication and Armed Conflicts: The Role of Cognition and the Algorithm in Defense and National Security Environments

Section Avances (Miscellanea)

Keywords: k-pop digital protest digital repression Twitter hashtags

Authors

Andres Lombana-Bermudez
Universidad Javeriana

Sergio Rodriguez Gomez
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Abstract

This study presents the results from an exploratory and empirical study about digital protests regarding K-pop held in Colombia during the 2021 national strike. A mixed-method approach was used to analyze a total of 134,144 tweets to investigate the dynamics characterizing this method of political and digital activism as well as the tactics used by the participants. Furthermore, the images and texts used to control the information flow and capture public attention on Twitter were characterized by analyzing multimodal content in a random sample of 1,840 tweets posted with the #RepudioAlVándalo [WeRepudiateVandals] hashtag. The results show that algorithmic resistance, hashtag hijacking, and spam were effectively deployed within K-pop activism, enabling sabotage of the hashtag publics that sought to stigmatize protesters and supported the use of force against them. To conclude, we reflect on the effectiveness of the global–local K-Pop movement, the evolution of digital political activism, and its problematic association with the terminology of information warfare. In addition, we consider the limitations and future developments of our research.

How to Cite

Lombana-Bermudez, A., & Rodriguez Gomez, S. (2023). Overflowing Hashtags on Twitter: K-Pop Digital Protests within the Context of the 2021 National Strike in Colombia. Anuario Electrónico De Estudios En Comunicación Social "Disertaciones", 16(2). https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.12803

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