Platform Politics in Europe | Cuing Collective Outcomes on Twitter: A Qualitative Reading of Movement Social Learning

Abstract

In this article, we explore the process of movement social learning on Twitter. Previously described as the diffusion and social validation of innovation pertaining to collective outcomes through the practice of retweeting, movement social learning is unpicked with a combination of trace and interview data. We examine language use in retweets associated with the UK People’s Assembly Against Austerity with the aim to form an understanding of how such learning is cued. We argue that retweeters make visible and transmit insights into collective outcomes and ways of attaining them. They maintain a flow of information that sustains a pool of knowledge about the movement. At the same time, they construct a selective discursive environment where the public voicing of conflict can help clarify the scope of participation in a movement.