Social media is increasingly being used as a forum to engage in political events and using different kinds of social platforms has become an easier and faster way to conveying political messages to the outside world. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the social media platform YouTube is used as an instrument for a resistance movement and how the content in these videos are continuously changing by studying a specific case that takes place over a long period of time. Using a content analysis, this study analyzed visual materials in form of livestream videos on YouTube about the resistance movement in Hong Kong during June, July, September, and October 2019. The analyzed videos are strategically selected from a specific YouTube channel named China Uncensored, where the authors of the content give a very transparent visual of the resistance movement. To analyze the YouTube videos, a coding scheme was constructed with five starting point for respective video: the purpose, the target, the alliance, criticism types, and the level of violence for the resistance movement. In conclusion the use of YouTube as an instrument for a resistance movement in form of livestream videos has shown positive effects due to its realistic, unedited, and transparent visual of reality. This way the content has high validity, which makes YouTube livestream videos a great tool of resistance on social media. The study also answers the question regarding the changes in the livestream videos, that the goal and level of violence of the movement constantly changed during the selected timeline. / Sociala medier används alltmer som ett forum för att engagera sig i politiska händelser och att använda olika typer av sociala plattform har blivit ett enklare och snabbare sätt att förmedla politiska budskap till omvärlden. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur den sociala medieplattformen Youtube används som ett instrument för en motståndsrörelse och hur innehållet i dessa videor kontinuerligt förändras genom att studera ett specifikt fall som äger rum under en lång tidsperiod. Med hjälp av en innehållsanalys analyserade denna studie visuella material i form av livesändningar på Youtube om motståndsrörelsen i Hong Kong under juni, juli, september och oktober 2019. De analyserade videorna är strategiskt utvalda från en specifik Youtube-kanal där författarna till innehållet ger en mycket transparent bild av motståndsrörelsen. För att analysera Youtube-filmerna konstruerades ett kodningsschema med fem utgångspunkt för respektive video: syftet, målet, alliansen, kritiktyper och våldsnivån för motståndsrörelsen. Resultatet visar att användningen av YouTube som ett instrument för en motståndsrörelse i form av livesändningar visat positiva effekter på grund av dess realistiska, oredigerade och transparenta visuella verklighet. På detta sätt har innehållet hög validitet, vilket gör YouTube-livesändningar till ett bra verktyg för motstånd på sociala medier. Studien svarar också på frågan angående förändringarna i dessa videon, att rörelsens mål och våldsnivå ständigt förändrades under den valda tidsperioden.

[pt] Esta pesquisa em comunicação política analisou o impacto das mídias digitais na opinião pública durante os protestos de 2019 em Hong Kong com base na hipótese da espiral do silêncio (Noelle-Neumann, 1974). Se trata de um estudo qualitativo e interpretativo que observa como os usuários participam das discussões políticas por meio das mídias sociais. A pesquisa procura analisar as opiniões e expressões em torno de o tema em estudado, privilegiando o estudo de caso e adotando métodos como a análise de enquadramentos e de conteúdo. Em concreto, questiona-se se nos protestos de 2019 em Hong Kong, ocorreu um fenômeno da espiral do silêncio nos debates sobre os protestos de 2019 em Hong Kong, nos comentários sobre as notícias postadas na página oficial no Facebook do South China Morning Post. Para responder à esta questão, este estudo analisou manualmente 76 notícias postadas pela fanpage e 2.000 comentários às mesmas. A teoria da Espiral do Silêncio afirma que pessoas que se reconhecem como minorias evitam expressar o que pensam publicamente, quando pensam que o clima de opinião da maioria é contrário às suas próprias opiniões. Os resultados desta pesquisa mostram que nos comentários da fanpage analisada, uma minoria de usuários tendeu a se autocensurar com o passar do tempo, confirmando a hipótese da espiral do silêncio, mas que após um certo período, voltou a expressar suas opiniões apesar de continuarem sendo uma minoria, o que evidencia uma espiral do silêncio intermitente no tempo, provavelmente motivada por fatores exógenos ao ambiente de discussão observado. A pesquisa visa contribuir para o avanço da discussão sobre participação política nas mídias sociais na atualidade, por meio do estudo do ambiente e do conteúdo midiático. O contexto do objeto da pesquisa é o do Projeto de Lei de Extradição de Hong Kong em 2019. Este estudo tem um significativo caráter inovador no Brasil, pois enriquece o repertório de pesquisas empíricas sobre os países asiáticos, ainda incipiente na comunicação política, fornecendo novos achados que incentivam futuras pesquisas em perspectiva comparada, utilizando teorias já consolidadas. / [en] This political communication research analyzed the impact of digital media on public opinion. This is a qualitative and interpretive study that observes how users participate in political discussions through social media. The survey aims to analyze the opinions and expressions surrounding the proposed theme, using case study as a research strategy, and adopting methods such as frame methods and qualitative content analysis. Starting from this concept, question are raised: In the 2019 Hong Kong protests, existed a Spiral of silence phenomenon on social media? This research has important scientific and innovative contributions. In order to understand these issue, based on the Spiral of silence hypothesis, this study manually analyzed 76 posts on the Facebook website of the South China Morning Post and 2,000 public comments. The development of the theory Spiral of silence (Noelle-Neumann, 1974) pointed out that people retain their opinions when they think that the climate of opinion is contrary to their own opinions, and this silence will increase over time. The analysis of this research shows that on the Facebook platform, a minority of opinion holders tend to retain their opinions, but as time goes by, a minority of determined people begin to express their opinions, which shows an intermittent Spiral of silence in time, probably motivated by factors exogenous to the observed discussion environment. The research aims to contribute to the advancement of the environment for public political participation on the current social media, through the study of the media environment and media content. The background of the research is the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement. This special background has innovative significance, enriching empirical research on Eastern countries, and providing new ideas for non-campaigns political participation research.

The thesis aims to describe how was the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, which began in June 2019 in response to the proposed extradition law, perceived. In its theoretical part, the thesis will focus on a detailed description of the historical development of Hong Kong and the formation of an independent Hong Kong identity. Major events will be presented, from the times of colonial administration to the description of pro-democracy protests in 2019, which affected the current state of Hong Kong. Subsequently the theoretical framework of the processes of hegemony and visual representation will be introduced, which will be further presented in the context of Hong Kong. Last but not least, the topic of journalistic photography and its significance in the current journalistic field will be defined. The practical part of the thesis will offer an analysis of how the direct participants perceived the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and whether their perceptions of events correspond not only with each other but also with the journalistic visual material that mapped four months of protests. A photo essay from the author's set of photographs was created to be also analysed in this work, part of which was subjected to a socio-semiotic analysis. Last but not least, there will be a comparison of results...

No description available.