Online repression and tactical evasion: evidence from the 2020 Day of Anger protests in Egypt

• DOI: 10.1080/13510347.2022.2140798
• Publication Date: 2022-11-16T14:37:23Z
• Authors: Philipp M. Lutscher; Neil Ketchley
• Keywords: Autocracy; Evasion (ethics)

Following the 2011 Arab Spring, autocrats have sought to limit citizens' ability publicize offline protests over social media. In this article, we explore how users adjust these restrictions. To do so, analyse 33 million tweets sent from Egypt during "Day of Anger" in September 2020. We find evidence online tactical evasion a highly repressive context. Compared neutral users, regime opponents are more likely issue calls for using new or dedicated accounts that contain no personal information. Users also delete calling mobilization ex-post bid conceal their activism. weaker suggesting try evade laws targeting critical with 5000 followers. The findings illustrate activists autocracies use media mobilize street-level contention while attempting mitigate risk state repression.