"First we go viral, then we sway the public?" The motives, presence and impact of movements' online protest communication

For SMOs, winning the hearts and minds of the broader public is crucial to generate political and social change. With public support, SMOs gain “standing” and increase their odds to come over as legitimate claimants in society. To convince citizens of their cause, however, social media platforms have become key for SMOs to make their own street protest claims. It is in the social media arena SMOs strategically can communicate about their street protest events—without mass media interference. Social media platforms afford SMOs to mobilize, coordinate and communicate about their actions in speed tempo and to establish a large-scale international network of protest supporters. To date, limited work focused on SMOs’ own protest messaging in the social media landscape so far. In this PhD thesis, I therefore lay bare the motives, presence and impact of SMOs’ own online protest claims-making. What drives SMOs’ online protest communication? To what extent and how do SMOs talk about their street protest events on social media? And, what makes SMOs’ protest posts go viral and impact citizens’ protest attitudes?