“Getting the protest post out”: To what extent and how social movements’ Facebook protest posts receive user engagement

Abstract User engagement serves as a “public opinion cue” for social movements. Likes, shares, and comments on protest-related posts provide valuable insights for social movements to evaluate their protest communication, help to increase protest visibility, and bring up public discussions in the social media arena. But, to what extent do social movements’ protest-related posts resonate? And, which protest claims explain user engagement? In this study, I analyze Facebook posts (N=184,917) of social movements (N=163) staging street protests (N=207) in Brussels (Belgium) between January 2017 and December 2021. By comparing protest-related and non-protest-related posts, I show that protest posts receive more user engagement on Facebook. Explanatory analyses indicate that disruption, high number, and commitment claims in social movements’ protest posts trigger user engagement. Protest and social media features are controlled for as well. Results enrich the empirical framework on user engagement and contribute to the theoretical understanding of social movements’ protest claims-making online.