OccupyMedia! shows how Occupy activists confront capitalism and communication in a world of crisis, capitalism, surveillance and social media.
OccupyMedia! shows how Occupy activists confront capitalism and communication in a world of crisis, capitalism, surveillance and social media.
Media studies, Ngos (non-governmental organizations)
The Occupy movement has emerged in a historical crisis of global capitalism. It struggles for the reappropriation of the commodified commons. Communications are part of the commons of society. Yet contemporary social media are ridden by an antagonism between private corporate control (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and self-managed, commons-based activist media. In this work, Christian Fuchs analyses the contradictory dialectic of social media in the Occupy movement. Drawing on a political economy framework and interpretation of the results of the OccupyMedia! Survey, in which more than 400 Occupy activists reported on their social media use, OccupyMedia! The Occupy Movement and Social Media in Crisis Capitalism shows how activists confront the contradictions of capitalism and communication in the age of crisis and social media. The book discusses the contradiction between commercial and alternative social media and argues that the existence of a surveillance-industrial complex expressed in the PRISM system shows the urgent necessity to create social media beyond Facebook and Google.
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Occupy Media! by Christian Fuchs is in part a recognition of how deep the change that is needed in the theories and practice of traditional oppositional politics. Christian explains the role of social media, as a model of organisation as well as a tool of communication, in terms of the transformation of protest movements world-wide. Such a role though isn’t by any means automatic ~ Mark Perryman, Philosophy Football
There have been many attempts to examine the Occupy Movement, but none with the theoretical and empirical rigour of Fuchs’ masterful book. OccupyMedia! offers a critical vision of a world in crisis, a detailed description of the voices of resistance, and a thorough analysis of new forms of communication. The result is a much-needed model for research on social movements and a rich store of information for today’s movement activists. ~ Prof. Vincent Mosco, Queen's University – Author of “The Political Economy of Communication”
Christian Fuchs has written an indispensable guide - based on new research - to the breaking story of the relationship of the massive explosion in worldwide protest and upheaval and social media. The book is a terrific read and has important insights into the most serious issues facing media scholars and activists. It deserves close attention. ~ Prof. Robert W. McChesney, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Author of “Digital Disconnect"
