The structure of the Protest Agenda on Social Media: Issues, Goals, and Support

Virtualization of socio-political communication causes significant changes both to its structure and ways of transmitting ideas and values, as well as to the perception of activists. Online protest activity has become widespread due to the unique opportunities provided by social media. The main tool for informing and motivating activists becomes the information communicated through social media and used for a certain purpose. A collection of information on similar topics can be referred to as the agenda. A distinctive feature of protest agendas is the diversity of issues raised within a single campaign. As a result, the main protest agenda changes over time, giving way to additional ideas and issues in the general information field. This paper examines the structure of protest agendas broadcast on social media, using the example of online advocacy for protest campaigns in Russia in 2019–2021 as an example. Based on the example of real cases, a conclusion is made on the most urgent topics raised, features of their communication and the level of support from social media users.