The internet is crucial in an age of protest

by Seth Rutner

November 3, 2025 7:04 PM

The Internet is a “series of tubes” said then U.S. senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in 2006.
This hopelessly out of touch statement perhaps indicates the disparity between old politicians and the savvy youth of today. Need further proof? Look at the Arab Spring and the “American Fall,” as it has been dubbed by some.
As you avid readers of the Xaverian Weekly know, this paper alone has been rife with Occupy Wall Street stories over the last few weeks, and mainstream media is no different. It’s been over six weeks now and protestors are still at it, occupying everywhere. Is this just another stupid protest, or is it something different?
It is different. The Internet—to quote a certain director on campus—is a “game changer.” Protestors in Egypt utilized Twitter to spread the word about their protests, circumventing efforts of censorship by the despotic government. This was soon followed by more protests by residents of neighbouring Arab countries also tired of being repressed. Thanks, Internet.
Western countries hailed this as monumental. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had this to say about protests in Egypt and elsewhere:
“The people of the Middle East like people everywhere are seeking a chance to contribute and to have a role in the decisions that will shape their lives. Leaders need to respond to these aspirations, and to help build that better future for all. They need to view civil society as their partner not as a threat.” But actions speak louder than words, and many of these protests in America have been met with police brutality and mass arrests. The protests themselves, though, seem to be striking a chord within American society.
In Nashville, Tennessee judge Tom Nelson ordered all arrested protestors released on October 28th, dismissing the charges against them. He had done the same thing the night before.
Nelson scolded the police for changing town by-laws on the protestors in order to arrest them.
The reason we know about these sorts of things today is through social media and the Internet. I heard about this occurrence on Twitter in a retweet by @AnonyOps from @blogdiva, who retweeted it from @OpWallStreet. They saw it on occupyalabama.org (every occupy movement has a website). Word travels fast now, huh?
I heard the Hillary Clinton quote on a Youtube video someone linked to the Occupy Nova Scotia Facebook group. When I watched it a week ago, it had 6,000 views—and now it has over 800,000.
Before the Internet, we would know nothing about this; we would have to rely on the mainstream media.
So, for us StFX students that would be what? Cable news and the Chronicle Herald—maybe the Globe and Mail if we were lucky. In fact, when the Globe and Mail reported on this same event Friday, they just mentioned how troopers had to clear out the park in Nashville and made 29 arrests! They left out the part where that night the judge dismissed all of their charges and chewed out the police for having “no lawful basis for removing protestors.”
The only cable news outlet that reported on this was the local Channel 2 News for Nashville, which featured Judge Nelson’s above frustration with state troopers. People all over the world congregate online anonymously, partaking in the “anonymous” group medium.
People share documents and tips for setting up successful protests, post news about other protests, and some also take it upon themselves to do more illicit things: defacing websites, leaking documents, and identifying and releasing personal information of individuals that wish to hamper the goals of these online activists.
These activists communicate in public—not private—on the Internet through Twitter, websites such as anonnews.org, anonops.blogspot.com, and IRC chat. A quick Google search can easily reveal these communication hubs to the curious onlooker.
Perhaps the reason these movements have taken off so fast is the amazing speed at which people can informed themselves on these issues, read about other people getting involved, and learn what they can do to help out.