--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Social media now make it easier to…" description: "\"Social media now make it easier to organize protest movements, even - or perhaps especially - in authoritarian regimes.\" — Chrystia Freeland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg" --- # Social media now make it easier to organize protest… ![“Social media now make it easier to organize protest movements, even - or perhaps especially - in authoritarian regimes.” quote by Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg) > “Social media now make it easier to organize protest movements, even - or perhaps especially - in authoritarian regimes.” [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social media lowers barriers for collective action, enabling protests even under repressive governments. **In simple terms:** Social media helps organize protests, even in dictatorships. Key Takeaway Leverage digital tools responsibly for civic engagement. Themes activism technology politics Mood cautious empowering Type political analytical When to use this quote - human rights campaigns - grassroots organizing - online petitions - digital security training Key Concepts digital mobilization authoritarian resistance Questions to Reflect On - How can activists protect themselves online? - What ethical responsibilities do platforms have? A Different Perspective State surveillance can undermine anonymity and safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authoritarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authoritarian/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Protest movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest-movements/) [Social media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-media/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) ## Related quotes > [“Democracy can exist only in the countries where people are brave! Coward nations always live under the authoritarian regimes!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/democracy-can-exist-only-in-the-countries-where-people-are-brave/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [One of the strange things about violent and authoritarian regimes is they don't like the glare of negative publicity. If you can make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/one-of-the-strange-things-about-violent-and-authoritarian-regimes-is-3/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [One of the strange things about violent and authoritarian regimes is they don't like the glare of negative publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/one-of-the-strange-things-about-violent-and-authoritarian-regimes-is-2/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“authoritarian regimes currently experiencing some growth are likely to reach the limits of extractive growth before they transform their political institutions in a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/authoritarian-regimes-currently-experiencing-some-growth-are-likely/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [The stability and security of authoritarian regimes cannot create but terrorism and violence and destruction. Let us accept the choice of the people. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/the-stability-and-security-of-authoritarian-regimes-cannot-create-but/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [“AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES USUALLY include a special riot police force whose task is to disperse citizens who seek to protest, and a secret state police…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/authoritarian-regimes-usually-include-a-special-riot-police-force/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [One of the strange things about violent and authoritarian regimes is they don't like the glare of negative publicity. If you can make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/one-of-the-strange-things-about-violent-and-authoritarian-regimes-is/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Vladimir Putin is creating an axis of authoritarian regimes that he will lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-nance/vladimir-putin-is-creating-an-axis-of-authoritarian-regimes-that-he/) [Malcolm Nance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-nance/) > [When an authoritarian regime starts taking down feeds and blocking websites just because we expose the truth... that's an attack on freedom of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-zucker/when-an-authoritarian-regime-starts-taking-down-feeds-and-blocking/) [Jeff Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-zucker/) > [“Look for some peace organization to join. It will look small at first, and pitiful and helpless, but that’s how movements start. That’s how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/look-for-some-peace-organization-to-join-it-will-look-small-at-first/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We need to organize ourselves and protest against existing order - against war, against economic and sexual exploitation, against racism, etc. But to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-need-to-organize-ourselves-and-protest-against-existing-order/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We must organize. We must protest. We must cry out in a loud voice that America needs a raise. We must keep working until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-schakowsky/we-must-organize-we-must-protest-we-must-cry-out-in-a-loud-voice-that/) [Jan Schakowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-schakowsky/) > [The Egyptian experience suggests that social media can greatly accelerate the death of already dying authoritarian regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-egyptian-experience-suggests-that-social-media-can-greatly/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [“In the case of Tunisia, it was indeed this single act that sparked what had been long-standing active protest movements and moved them forward.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-the-case-of-tunisia-it-was-indeed-this-single-act-that-sparked/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the theft of confidential cables to 21st century protest movements, to development breakthroughs that have the potential to change millions of lives, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/from-the-theft-of-confidential-cables-to-21st-century-protest/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Chrystia Freeland > [We recognize that NAFTA is a three-country agreement, and we need a three-country negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/we-recognize-that-nafta-is-a-three-country-agreement-and-we-need-a/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [In a globalized economy, jobs no longer need a passport, but workers do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/in-a-globalized-economy-jobs-no-longer-need-a-passport-but-workers-do/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [When you think of technological revolution, you probably think of geeks in cool coastal spaces like the Google campus, or perhaps of math wizards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/when-you-think-of-technological-revolution-you-probably-think-of/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [It was surprising to me to hear a member question whether another member of the House was an adult. We're all adults in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/it-was-surprising-to-me-to-hear-a-member-question-whether-another/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [Especially among journalists, politics is not a pursuit that's held in high esteem. We tend to be cynical about it - but I actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/especially-among-journalists-politics-is-not-a-pursuit-that-s-held-in/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [Talking about income inequality, even if you're not on the Forbes 400 list, can make us feel uncomfortable. It feels less positive, less optimistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/talking-about-income-inequality-even-if-you-re-not-on-the-forbes-400/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [The chief job of foreign policy today is helping to figure out the rules for the global economy and defending each nation's interests within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/the-chief-job-of-foreign-policy-today-is-helping-to-figure-out-the/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [I love the Internet. I love my mobile devices. I love the fact that they mean that whoever chooses to will be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/i-love-the-internet-i-love-my-mobile-devices-i-love-the-fact-that/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [TED is certainly a gathering of an incredibly eclectic, incredibly interesting community, but it's also an elite community - at least an important portion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/ted-is-certainly-a-gathering-of-an-incredibly-eclectic-incredibly/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [Motherhood may be a 'killer' when it comes to becoming a Master of the Universe, but among middle-class mothers, even after that touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/motherhood-may-be-a-killer-when-it-comes-to-becoming-a-master-of-the/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [A thing that really troubles me about a more polarized society is that you stop having a sense of society and citizenship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/a-thing-that-really-troubles-me-about-a-more-polarized-society-is/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [Western investment is usually assumed to walk hand-in-hand with the democratic values of its home countries, and indeed, opening an economy to outside money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/western-investment-is-usually-assumed-to-walk-hand-in-hand-with-the/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [Twitter-lutionaries are good at toppling regimes, but in the Mideast and North Africa, they're losing out to the Islamists, who've built protest movements the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/twitter-lutionaries-are-good-at-toppling-regimes-but-in-the-mideast/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [I am a very strong supporter of our government's view that it is important to engage with all countries around the world - very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/i-am-a-very-strong-supporter-of-our-government-s-view-that-it-is/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [The high-tech, globalized capitalism of the 21st century is very different from the postwar version of capitalism that performed so magnificently for the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/the-high-tech-globalized-capitalism-of-the-21st-century-is-very/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) [Explore all 102 Chrystia Freeland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) ## More Authoritarian quotes > [Sometimes it's easier for people who are in authority to be authoritarian, because people know where you stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/sometimes-it-s-easier-for-people-who-are-in-authority-to-be/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [We very clearly do not want an authoritarian regime... setting standards in the world marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ratcliffe/we-very-clearly-do-not-want-an-authoritarian-regime-setting-standards/) [John Ratcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ratcliffe/) > [Cumulatively, American society is sliding toward a new form of 'authoritarian democracy'. Elections continue, free speech is generally protected, institutions operate in accordance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/cumulatively-american-society-is-sliding-toward-a-new-form-of/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [“If you care about other people, that's now a very dangerous idea. If you care about other people, you might try to organize to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-care-about-other-people-that-s-now-a-very-dangerous-idea-if/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Democracy can exist only in the countries where people are brave! Coward nations always live under the authoritarian regimes!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/democracy-can-exist-only-in-the-countries-where-people-are-brave/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Even more than comparing society to a family, comparing it to a body makes an authoritarian ordering of society seem inevitable, immutable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/even-more-than-comparing-society-to-a-family-comparing-it-to-a-body/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are not and will never be an authoritarian regime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/we-are-not-and-will-never-be-an-authoritarian-regime/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Why do economists fall in love with authoritarian governments?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasheng-huang/why-do-economists-fall-in-love-with-authoritarian-governments/) Yasheng Huang > [“Just as in the Trump-Giuliani Ukraine conspiracy, we saw a ruthless, single-minded obsession with staying in power; a manifest lack of moral values, shame,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-yovanovitch/just-as-in-the-trump-giuliani-ukraine-conspiracy-we-saw-a-ruthless/) Marie Yovanovitch > [North Korea aside, most authoritarian governments have already accepted the growth of the Internet culture as inevitable; they have little choice but to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/north-korea-aside-most-authoritarian-governments-have-already/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [I am the first authoritarian government elected to become a dictator and then resigning as a dictator. So this is the first dictator in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-am-the-first-authoritarian-government-elected-to-become-a-dictator/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [There is an authoritarian strain in all of Leftism-- because the bigger the government, the more it controls other peoples' lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/there-is-an-authoritarian-strain-in-all-of-leftism-because-the-bigger/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [My position and the state will never allow me to become a dictator, but an authoritarian style of rule is characteristic of me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lukashenko/my-position-and-the-state-will-never-allow-me-to-become-a-dictator/) [Alexander Lukashenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lukashenko/) > [You really don't create an authoritarian society unless you control the personal choices including the sexual choices of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hefner/you-really-don-t-create-an-authoritarian-society-unless-you-control/) [Hugh Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hefner/) > [The question is: Particularly in the post-9/11 era, are societies becoming more liberal or more authoritarian?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-question-is-particularly-in-the-post-9-11-era-are-societies/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Browse all 185 Authoritarian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authoritarian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Social media now make it easier to organize protest movements, even - or perhaps especially - in authoritarian regimes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chrystia Freeland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organize-protest-movements-even-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Authoritarian" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organize-protest-movements-even-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/chrystia-freeland-5308_authoritarian_social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organ_854940.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Social media now make it easier to organize protest movements, even - or perhaps especially - in…” — Chrystia Freeland", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chrystia Freeland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social media now make it easier...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organize-protest-movements-even-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/social-media-now-make-it-easier-to-organize-protest-movements-even-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```