Messaging and mobilization
Rebel groups, social media communication, and audience engagement
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3915967 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuel E Bestvater (0000-0003-0301-0100, Independent researcher), Cyanne E Loyle (0000-0003-4871-7433, Department of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University Peace Research Institute Oslo, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 295-309 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00223433231201448 |
| OpenAlex | W4389507523 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 43 |
Mobilization is central to the emergence, survival and success of armed groups challenging the state, and has lately expanded to new arenas with the rise of social media. Using a new dataset of rebel group Twitter use, we examined the topics contained in rebel group social media communications to understand how different messaging strategies impact civilian engagement with rebel messages. Rather than benefiting solely from direct calls to action, we found that rebel groups also increased civilian engagement through indirect messages of self-promotion. While direct appeals received more engagement than indirect appeals, their effects were tempered by audience fatigue when relied on too heavily. We additionally found that including images further enhanced the impact of a mobilizing message. These findings expanded our understanding of rebel communications and mobilization, with important implications for combating the use of social media as a recruitment tool for violent extremism
Action (physics) · Collective action · Internet privacy · Mobilization · Political science · Politics · Promotion (chess) · Public relations · Social media · Social mobilization · Text messaging · Computer Science · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |