UC Santa Barbara

This study examines social media activity on Facebook, Twitter, and Blog during the 2015 South Korean protest movement against state history textbooks. The Thesis seeks to understand motives and implications of appropriation by activists. Appropriation refers to the transference of traditional media content into social media messaging. The findings suggest that there is greater appropriation on social media platforms than the theory of connective action suggests. Activists utilize traditional media content rather than personalized action frames in order to increase responsiveness in the volatile protest environment, be competitive amongst the large and rapid flows of information, and enhance their own credibility and legitimacy.

The study uses a mixed method approach. Content analysis was used to analyze social media data produced between October 4th to November 7th, 2015, the peak of the civil protest against the South Korean government’s textbook policy. Data were collected from three social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Blog. Twenty-eight in-depth interviews were conducted with activists who participated in the movement against the government. Trend analysis was used to compare changes in public opposition to the textbooks with the appropriation by activists. The findings suggest that activists appropriated traditional media contents more than their own personally devised original contents. Interviews suggest that a primary force behind the appropriation was activists’ motivation to communicate credibility and legitimacy. However, platform type made a difference in how often they appropriated and what contents they used for the appropriation. The results suggest that the spirit of each platform, i.e. perceived features, was closely associated with appropriation choices. Content type also was related to the frequency of activists’ involvement in appropriation. Activists’ prior experiences and familiarity with appropriating the different content types mediated the frequency of appropriation. Trend analysis showed a generally positive relationship between negative public opinion and appropriation activities, most especially for younger activists.