Building support for the radical left through social media

the case of Greece Nikos Smyrnaios

Université de Toulouse

The context

Syriza: coalition of the Greek non Stalinist radical left It’s rise to power is a unique phenomenon in Europe:

Vote percentage x8 in 5 years. From 13 MPs in 2009 to 149 in 2015 (out of 300)

Against the mainstream media & the political establishment in Greece & the EU

The context

Multiple factors explain this phenomenon:

- Greece’s particular political history

- Dramatic socio-economic crisis & extreme austerity

- Nepotism & corruption of traditional political parties

- Distrust in mainstream media

- Powerful social movement between 2010 & 2014

…but also the rise of overwhelming support for Syriza online

Research question & method

What was the socio-political process that built overwhelming support for Syriza on social media ?

Historical narrative of the “complex sociotechnical and system” & the particular political context that helps a popular movement for

change to expand (Lim, 2012)

Empirical material: Interviews with activists & members of Syriza

Participant observation in two campaigns (disclosure)

Study of online content from 2006 to 2015

The early days (2006-2009)

Greek political activism online was limited to Indymedia Athens up to the middle of the 2000s

From 2006 rise of the Greek blogosphere: modernist technophile elite, « liberal consensus » against conservatism, political activism

against corruption

May 2006: 4th European Social Forum in Athens

October 2006: SYRIZA’s successful election campaign for municipality of Athens headed by Alexis Tsipras (32)

August 2007: first protest organised by bloggers in Athens against massive wildfires

The early days (2006-2010)

February 2008: Tsipras becomes leader of SYRIZA

X-generation, anti-globalisation movement & social forums, close to the blogosphere, try to modernize SYRIZA

Tsipras’ first interview as SYRIZA’s leader is to citizen journalism webradio (Radiobubble)

December 2008: massive riots in Greece after the assassination of Alexis Grigoropoulos by a policeman

Alternative media explode: start-ups (TVXS), citizen journalism (Radiobubble), hashtag reporting (#Griots)

Tsipras’ personal friends with “street credibility” & tenths of SYRIZA sympathisers connect to it (they will be at the heart of

future campaigns)

The early days (2006-2010)

April 2009: Obama’s online campaign organizer invited by SYRIZA. Strategic choice to invest the internet in order to counter

mainstream propaganda

Online political polarization mainly between progressives (of radical Left/SYRIZA and Center Left/PASOK) versus

conservatives (Right/New Democracy)

October 2009: PASOK under Papandreou win elections with first major online political campaign in Greece, co-opting of the “progressive” blogosphere

April 2010: Greece declared bankrupt, 1st Memorandum (forced loans from EU & IMF + extreme austerity measures). 2nd

Memorandum in February 2011

The early days (2006-2010)

May 2011: Spanish Indignados occupy Plaza del Sol, Greek Aganaktismenoi occupy Syntagma square

Through 2011 & 2012 massive protests, repeated police brutality, social media denounce repression & propaganda

Protests & digital/physical hubs (e.g. Radiobubble) further connect SYRIZA & social media activists

Online political polarization shifts to pro-austerity (CenterLeft/Pasok & Right/ND) versus anti-austerity (Left/Syriza &

patriots/populists )

May/June 2012: first electoral success of Syriza that becomes the main opposition to reactionary pro-austerity right wing

government. Neo-Nazis enter Parliament

The road to power (2013-2015)

October 2013: European Left designates Tsipras for the presidency of the European Commission. Tours Europe

SYRIZA creates a dedicated social media team for campaign

Team (n=20) with very small budget but a lot of enthusiasm. Many experts (data scientists, communication strategists,

journalists) work for free

Office not in SYRIZA’s HQs => complete autonomy from politicians. The campaign federates tenths of “influencers”

Strategy connected with social movements (spontaneous participation); uses coverage about the Greek crisis to speak

about Europe; coordinates internationally (transform!); relies on creativity coming from the base; radical but also “informal”

discourse (humour, flexibility)

It

The road to power (2013-2015)

Tsipras gains reputation in the EU (+17 MPs for EL, from 35 to 52) and popularity in Greece, SYRIZA becomes 1st party in

Summer 2014: Access to power is only a matter of time. Tsiprasstarts meetings with mainstream media moguls (contacts

apparently started in 2012)

The social media team falls apart, one of the 2 main coordinators resigns over political differences

January 25 2015: Snap elections in Greece. A social media team is put together only 40 days prior

Electoral communication centred on Tsipras, conceived by ad agencies & consultants outside SYRIZA, chosen by Tsipras 1st

circle

#SYRIZA on Twitter after the Greek Elections of January 25 2015

SYRIZA’s victory still has a massive international impact

Negotiation and defeat (2015)

Tsipras’ government tries to negotiate with Troïka on a moderate basis (strategy co-authored by Varoufakis), as months pass the

Greek government’s position gets weaker

Many members of the social media team get jobs in government, one of the 2 coordinators becomes Tsipras’ personal CM

Members who voice criticism are not proposed jobs, are marginalised

June 2015: BCE imposes capital controls

July 2015: Tsipras calls for a Referendum on the Troïka’sausterity plan, 62% reject it (last popular act of defiance)

One week after Tsipras signs the austerity plan

#Greferendum on Twitter

Greek referendum still has a massive international impact. But it was the last time..

You’ll find all my analyses from that period, including graphs, on ephemeron.eu

Thanks !