Abstract
This paper examines how dissent and social mobilization were constructed on Persian X (formerly Twitter) during the protests following Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022. Through a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of posts using the hashtag #MahsaAmini (مهسا_امینی#), the study shows that X functioned not only as a space for reporting events but also as a medium for coordination, framing political demands, and articulating visions of systemic change. The findings highlight how digitally mediated communication enabled the rapid formation and circulation of oppositional narratives despite severe restrictions on access and expression within Iran.
Introduction
The internet was initially viewed as a vast repository of information, providing users with valuable data through a one-way communication model. However, recent technological advances have made two-way dialogic interactions increasingly feasible. In light of ongoing discussions regarding the relationship between the internet and the public sphere, numerous scholars argue that the proliferation of the internet has fostered enhanced political engagement (Dahlgren, 2009; Putnam, 2000; Skocpol, 2003), thereby transforming the nature of political participation (Benkler, 2006; Dahlberg, 2001; Papacharissi, 2009). Social media, as one of the key platforms driving such developments, are considered mobilizing networks. Serving as spaces for opposition leaders to articulate their messages, these platforms facilitate communication between the movement, the political establishment, the media and various civil society organizations. The networks and relationships they foster represent the intersection of everyday life, collective action and politics (Hardin, 1982).
The first social network, Degrees Six, was launched in 1997, marking the beginning of a growing interest in such platforms in subsequent years (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Each social network serves a specific function and exhibits a unique internal structure. Some networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and X, are particularly interactive in nature. Among them, X has emerged as one of the most popular platforms. According to a 2019 report by We Are Social, Twitter or X, ranked as the seventh most visited website globally and the second most visited social network (after Facebook). Given its significant role in political events, posting has become a prominent form of political engagement and a key tool in online protests (Papacharissi, 2010: 131).
Similarly, the actions of X users in Iran have played a significant role in influencing political events on several occasions. Particularly in light of the weak civil and communication institutions in the country, news coverage tends to focus predominantly on political and social issues. In this context, X users have the ability to transform specific topics into trending subjects and news streams by creating hashtags, making it crucial to examine their impact.
Despite Iran’s restriction of X, citizens access the platform through VPNs, demonstrating digital resilience. However, this open access comes with risks, as the Iranian state actively monitors, and at times manipulates, online discourse. Previous studies (e.g. Morozov, 2009) caution against overestimating X’s emancipatory role, noting that authoritarian regimes often use these platforms for surveillance and misinformation. This duality in X’s role – a tool for both resistance and repression – adds a layer of complexity to understanding its impact on Iran’s political mobilization.
Hashtags, denoted by the symbol #, are commonly used to categorize content and facilitate participation in conversations on various topics (Huang et al., 2010). In the context of political events, hashtags play a key role in publicizing issues on X, gaining popularity among users. In Iran, several political events have gained significant traction through the creation of hashtags such as #WhiteWednesdays, #GirlsOfEnghelabStreet, #Plasco, #Sanchi, #WhichAban, #Metropol and #DoNotExecute. These examples highlight the considerable influence of X in shaping political discourse and trends within Iranian society (Morozov, 2009).
In the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in September 2022 after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating mandatory hijab laws, social media in Iran was flooded with reactions. Several hashtags went viral and trended widely in Persian, most notably #MahsaAmini and #مهسا_امینی. Her death sparked nationwide protests across Iran under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.
In fact, the hashtag #MahsaAmini set a new record for the highest frequency of reposts, generating an X storm – a sudden surge in activity surrounding a specific topic on the platform. X storms often lead to the rapid dissemination of news, amplifying the reach and impact of the issue in question.
Given the significant importance of the hashtag #MahsaAmini, this research aims to examine the attitudes of political activists toward this hashtag during the days of unrest in Iran. Specifically, the paper seeks to explore the content of posts, the types of users involved, message circulation, the nature of the messages, their socio-political impacts and the attitudes of the posters. To achieve these objectives, a combination of social network analysis and quantitative-qualitative content analysis was employed, guided by Bourdieu’s field theory.
Exploring X’s impact on political activism and discourse: A literature review
Ems (2014) believes that X impacts negotiations about political power. In other words, X has entered the power relations and affected them so extensively that political relations in a society cannot be analysed without taking X into account. One of the methods used in analysing social networks to discover relationships in social media is using a network of hashtags. Research findings suggest that analysing social media based on hashtags yields useful data for theoretical and applied studies (Vissers and Stolle, 2014).
Hashtags may cover a wide array of subjects, including politics, law, society, environment and women-related issues. Therefore, a large number of studies have examined hashtags in various social networks, including X.
Clark (2016), for example, in a study entitled, ‘Hope in a hashtag’, examined the hashtag #WhyIstayed to figure out how X users respond to dominant viewpoints about domestic violence. She reported that users redefine their perspectives through online forums and promote revised normative interpretations in response to the victim-blaming rhetoric dominating mainstream media. In their study entitled, ‘The power of the street: Evidence from Egypt’s Arab Spring’, Acemoglu et al. (2018) showed that the number of X posts, including keywords related to Tahrir Square, could predict the number of protestors gathering in the square on the following day. Moreover, increased coordination of posts using specific hashtags was associated with more intense protests on the following day during the Arab Spring.
In his study entitled, ‘Is it all about politics?’, Lorentzen (2017) analysed the hashtags generated by political elites in Sweden. He concluded that, in general, political issues dominated the activities of and around the elites.
In another study, Kasmani et al. (2014) examined Twitter activity during Malaysia’s 13th General Election by analyzing tweets containing the hashtag #PRU13, finding limited diversity in political discourse and a dominance of supporters of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. Segesten and Bossetta (2017) carried out another study entitled, ‘A typology of political participation online: How citizens used Twitter to mobilize during the 2015 British general elections’. Based on the collected data using the hashtag #GE2015, the researchers found that citizens (rather than political parties) were the primary initiators and sharers of political calls for action that led up to the election. Taken together, studying hashtags can shed light on important political trends.
Conceptual framework of the research
This study combines Bourdieu’s field theory, Freud’s psychoanalytic perspectives and political Islam to understand how digital spaces become contested grounds for ideological and political influence. Bourdieu’s focus on capital within fields aligns with Freud’s insights on individual motivations, illuminating how users’ engagement on X is shaped by both external power structures and internalized beliefs. Political Islam, as a contextual lens, anchors these theories within Iran’s unique socio-political landscape, showing how X enables opposition to political ideologies and identity formation among users.
In the early years of his career, Bourdieu concentrated on the concept of practice. Later, however, he published the book, Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste, in which he introduced the concept of the field in relation to practice (Bourdieu, 1984).
According to Bourdieu, a field is a social arena in which struggles over certain resources and interests are carried out (Jenkins, 2002). As a result of the division of labour and affairs separation, the open and macro social world has been divided into many small and closed fields, including the artistic field, the political field, the academic field, the religious field, etc. These small worlds or fields are part of the social world that act autonomously and each has its own interests, topics, rules and goals. Each person is a member of many fields at the same time and has a different status in each field. In simple pre-industrial societies, the number of effective fields is relatively limited. With the technological complexity of societies and their further differentiation, the number of different fields increases (Dalton, 2006).
Wacquant (1998) also proposed that the field is a campaign where foundations, identity and hierarchical system are continuously debated. In fact, the field is a territory of social life with its particular organizing rules, it offers a collection of opportunities, and it supports actions associated with these opportunities. Participants in social fields are positioned in different situations just like the players of a game. Bourdieu believes that the action in a field is not merely a mechanical reflection of established situations. Rather, it is the product of different contrasting plans of positioning (Wacquant, 1998: 215).
From Bourdieu’s point of view, capital plays an important role in the field, and in fact, the field is defined by its own interests and capital. The field is a real social world in which a special form of capital accumulates and special power relations flow in it. The social status of activists in any field is determined based on their capital. According to Bourdieu, the social space is a big field whose actors are distinguished from each other in terms of economic and cultural capital. The concept of social space expresses articulations between physical space and sociality. Those who have a lot of economic and cultural capital are at the top of the field, and those who have little economic and cultural capital are at the bottom of the field, and the rest of the people with medium economic or cultural capital are in the middle. Therefore, the social space is divided into three upper, middle and lower classes (Flemmen et al., 2018). This distinction that exists in the social space is also present in each of the subfields of this space, such as the field of economics, art, politics, sports, media, etc. On the other hand, people in different areas of society, which we call the field, are active based on their habits, and in fact, their habits affect the qualities of the field, and at the same time, the field affects their habits.
The term habitus refers to the collective entity by which and into which dominant social and cultural conditions are established and reproduced. In Bourdieu’s words, habitus refers to ‘a subjective but not individual system of internalised structures, schemes of perception, conception, and action common to all members of the same group or class’ (Bourdieu, 1977: 86). Habits include those interests and tastes of humans that are stable and changeable.
In a broader sense, habitus is a set of norms and expectations unconsciously acquired by individuals through experience and socialization as embodied dispositions, ‘internalized as second nature’ (Bourdieu), predisposing us to act improvisationally in certain ways within the constraints of particular social fields (Piroddi, 2021).
Bourdieu (1984) proposed the following formula to display the relationship between these elements: Practice = [field + (capital) (habitus)].
According to this equation, practice is the outcome of internal relationships between the field, habitus and capital. According to Bourdieu, a field is a network of relations that exists irrespective of people’s consciousness and will. He contends that a field is the arena for battles, conflicts and rivalry to obtain goods and capital (Bourdieu, 1998; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 169–170).
To identify and describe the features of a field, one must identify the actors in the field and their actions, which establish the norms and values in the field (Warde, 2004).
Identifying the power field (i.e. politics) is the most important factor in this regard. The hierarchical power relations and the political background shape the structure of all other areas (Ritzer, 1991). Thus, the winners in various fields, including the political one, are those who offer more powerful symbolic goods to the consumers. As a result of this victory, the winner imposes their symbolic good on the social field (Lash, 1990).
Bourdieu’s field theory (1984) is a suitable foundation for understanding and explaining the imaginary political field on X and the analysis of political activism on the Persian X. Given that in this field, beliefs and words are the most prominent goods, the creators of power and words possess an invisible power.
In the current study, it is hypothesized that the actions of X users in Iran comprise new forms of political participation, leading to the formation of an imaginary political field in this social media. In this new field, the users can maintain or overthrow the social order and influence its legitimacy (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 2013).
Following Bourdieu’s field theory, activists within the imaginary political field on X are identified as network activists (Bruns, 2008), who seek to seize power by posting about various incidents and engaging in network actions. Network activists form a collection of users who are weakly connected and engage in network practices through connective actions (Bennett and Segerberg, 2012). This process is illustrated in Figure 1.
Network activism in the political field on X.
Bourdieu’s field theory provides a valuable lens to examine how digital activism, as seen in #MahsaAmini, disrupts conventional power structures. Unlike traditional fields, digital spaces offer a fluid environment where anonymity and transnational connections enable users to engage in activism without the same constraints as physical spaces. This fluidity allows individuals to accumulate ‘symbolic capital’ through reposts and visibility, challenging established hierarchies and demonstrating how digital fields can both reinforce and subvert power dynamics. Thus, digital spaces like X redefine activism by amplifying voices traditionally marginalized in offline fields.
Moreover, Papacharissi (2014) introduces networked framing as one of these practices. According to this concept, which is based on framing theory (Entman, 1993), no longer are the traditional media the only source for framing the news, but it is the users who collectively select, strengthen, emphasize and remove some aspects of an event in the course of time to turn it into news and give it a special frame (Papacharissi, 2014). Due to lack of a genuine field in Iran to materialize practices, this virtual field has become even more important. Analysing these emerging fields during various political events is the first fundamental step in understanding political communication in today’s Iran.
Methodology
Several methods of data collection and analysis were utilized in this study. Given the exploratory nature of this research, content analysis was employed to gain a deeper understanding of the data. The two primary methods used for data analysis are social network analysis and content analysis. Data were extracted from users on X involved in political discussions within the Persian digital environment.
Given the presence of Iranian diaspora communities globally, it is essential to consider the role of international users in amplifying the #MahsaAmini hashtag. By engaging with both domestic and diaspora voices, this movement reflects a blend of on-ground resistance and transnational solidarity. Diaspora users, often unrestricted by state censorship, can vocalize opposition more openly, creating a feedback loop that energizes domestic activism. This dynamic complicates the analysis of political discourse, as the objectives and impacts of digital activism may differ between domestic and diasporic communities.
Moreover, since X is blocked in Iran, users located in the country often use VPNs to bypass censorship and access the platform, engaging in active political discussions there. As a result, determining the actual location of users can be challenging, as some operate fake accounts due to the risks of arrest and persecution by the government and security forces. Consequently, when attempting to identify user locations, the system often indicates that most posts are posted from a global perspective.
Recognizing the prevalence of automated accounts (bots) and potential misinformation, we applied filtering techniques to prioritize organic content. Although bots and state-affiliated accounts could have influenced the data, manual review and sample vetting aimed to reduce such distortions. Nonetheless, this limitation underscores the complex digital landscape surrounding Iran’s political activism, where state and non-state actors alike use digital tools to sway public opinion. The following steps were taken to determine the target sample.
In the first step, to collect the required data, the researchers were connected to the X API and, by exploiting the Java programming language, all posts associated with #Mahsa-Amini during a time span ranging from 16 September through 9 December were collected. A total number of 423,025,130 tweets were gleaned.
Given the limited time and financial resources, as well as the extensive effort required for qualitative coding of all the collected posts, a two-stage sampling approach was employed. First, a shorter time frame was selected, consisting of three 1-week intervals: 16–21 September, 21–28 October and 2–9 December. Then, random sampling was applied to select a specific number of posts within each interval. Using PSSS (Version 15), the sample size was determined with a 99 per cent confidence level and a 1 per cent margin of error. After excluding posts with fewer than 500 reposts, the final sample consisted of 3475 posts.
In the second stage, qualitative and quantitative content analysis was conducted on the final sample. Content analysis is a systematic, objective and quantitative analysis of message characteristics. It entails detailed analysis of human interactions, the features of images in television commercials and films, the use of language in published news and political speeches, and various other forms of communication. (Neondorf, 2002). The ultimate goal of analysing the content of interviews or documents was to identify the objectives, values, culture and attitudes of the interviewee or document developer. In other words, the content analysis aimed to cast light on the subconscious of the text and its owner (Freud, 1989). Different techniques of content analysis are usually subsumed under two general categories: quantitative and qualitative data analysis (Holloway, 1997). In the former, content analysis will result in producing numerical data and statistical analysis, while, in the latter, the aim is to offer a description of the content or shed light on its hidden meanings (Zhang and Wildemuth, 2009: 2). Both quantitative and qualitative content analysis procedures were utilized in the current study. In the qualitative content analysis phase, which was conducted using NVivo, the data were systematically categorized and coded, followed by identifying themes or patterns (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005).
Krippendorff’s alpha was used to examine the consistency of raters’ analysis. It is a reliability coefficient developed to measure the degree of agreement among raters in qualitative content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004). On the other hand, to ensure acceptable accuracy in the quantitative content analysis stage, descriptive and frequency tables were developed.
Results
The overall number of posts with the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini generated over the 12 weeks of the protests are displayed in Table 1.
Weekly distribution of posts with the #MahsaAmini hashtag during the 2022 protests in Iran.
Table 1 displays the weekly frequency of posts using #MahsaAmini from 16 September to 9 December 2022. Peaks in post activity are observed in the early weeks, corresponding with increased global attention following Mahsa Amini’s death. Later fluctuations may reflect shifts in user engagement and the emergence of other related hashtags, such as #NikaShahkarami and #MohsenShekari, which became focal points during successive protests.
As observed, the frequency of posts containing the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini changed over the course of the 12 weeks, experiencing a reduction from 87 million posts in the second week to 15 million in the twelfth (Figure 2).
Trends in #MahsaAmini post frequency over 12 weeks (September–December 2022).
The weekly variation in the frequency of #MahsaAmini tweets suggests shifts in user engagement, possibly influenced by concurrent events or the emergence of new hashtags, such as #NikaShahkarami and #MohsenShekari. These competing hashtags gained momentum as the protests progressed, likely diverting attention while sustaining the broader movement’s visibility.
Figure 2 illustrates weekly post counts using #MahsaAmini from 16 September to 9 December 2022. The highest activity appears in the second and third weeks, likely due to initial global awareness and emotional responses. Subsequent reductions may relate to the adoption of additional protest hashtags. This visual delineates how online attention evolved over time, revealing sustained interest in the #MahsaAmini movement despite temporary shifts in focus.
Analysing the network of reposts containing the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini yielded Figure 3.
Clusters in the repost network.
The figure illustrates that fundamentalist and revolutionary users occupy the periphery of the repost network, displaying fewer connections and minimal participation. Similarly, users associated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization exhibited low engagement. In contrast, subversive groups, reformists and artists who post regularly are closely interconnected, contributing significantly to the majority of reposts.
As previously mentioned, since a large number of posts containing the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini were produced during the studied period, three intervals were selected for conducting quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the posts. In the next step, samples were obtained using the number of reposts as the selection criterion. That is, the posts that had been reposted less than 500 times were removed from the sample. You can see the frequency of posts in Table 2.
Thematic analysis of posts with #MahsaAmini in the selected weeks.
Table 3 categorizes the primary themes of posts containing #MahsaAmini for the first, sixth and twelfth weeks. Themes include calls for protests, support for defenders of protests, and critiques of the government’s responses to the protests. These themes illustrate the evolving discourse, with calls to action and solidarity persisting even as other themes, such as support for detainees and strikes, gain prominence over time.
Distribution of #MahsaAmini posts by user group in the selected weeks.
Users who seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
Cluster analysis was conducted to explore the network relationships among different currents, with the results displayed in Table 3. This table demonstrates the proportion of posts containing the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini (in percentages) published by each of the three groups of users during the selected time intervals.
Table 3 presents the percentage of posts from key user groups – reformists, Mojahedin, subversive users and others – across the first, sixth and twelfth weeks of the protest period. It shows a consistently high engagement by subversive users, with daily active users also increasing their share over time. This distribution highlights the diversity of contributors and indicates the shifting engagement strategies among different groups involved in the movement.
It is seen that subversive users produced the largest proportion of Persian tweets with the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini during the three studied weeks, followed by users writing on a daily basis, and reformist users (Figure 4).
User group repost clusters: Engagement patterns in the #MahsaAmini movement.
Figure 4 maps the repost network by user group, including subversive users, reformists, revolutionary users and daily active users. Each group’s relative position in the network reflects its influence and contribution to #MahsaAmini. The central positioning of subversive and reformist groups underscores their significant roles in promoting discourse around Mahsa Amini’s case, highlighting the prominence of opposition voices in sustaining the movement online.
According to Figure 4, the number of posts produced by reformist users has declined from the beginning through the twelfth week, while the frequency of posts generated by users writing on a daily basis has gone up. The subversive users, on the other hand, produced a relatively similar numbers of posts during the three studied weeks.
The following themes in Table 4 emerged as a result of conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis of the content of the posts produced during the first studied week.
Frequency distribution of themes in the network of users in Week 1.
Considering the frequencies in Table 4, the themes with the highest frequency in the first week are demonstrated in Figure 5.
Frequency distribution of themes in the network of users in Week 1.
In total, trying to introduce the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini and turning it into a trend was the most frequently observed theme during the first week with a valid frequency of 69 per cent. Table 5 contains information about the most frequently repeated themes in Week 6.
Frequency distribution of themes in the network of users in Week 6.
Based on the information displayed in Table 5, the most frequently repeated themes during Week 6 are demonstrated in Figure 6.
Frequency distribution of themes in the network of users Week 6.
Thus, ‘invitation to protests’ was the most frequently observed theme during Week 6 with a valid percentage of 48.9 per cent. This theme encompassed posts in which the users spread the news about gatherings and encouraged others to continue the protests.
Table 6 indicates the most frequently repeated themes during Week 12.
Frequency distribution of themes in the network of users in Week 12.
The frequency of these themes is also graphically displayed in Figure 7.
Frequency distribution of themes in the network of users in Week 12.
It is observed that ‘supporting strikes’ was the most frequently repeated theme in the Week 12 with a valid percentage of 54.8 per cent. Figure 8 shows the most frequently observed themes in each of the three studied weeks.
Top post themes in the #MahsaAmini Movement – a three-phase analysis.
Figure 8 shows the primary themes identified in posts during three critical weeks of the protest movement (Weeks 1, 6 and 12). In Week 1, efforts to introduce and popularize the #MahsaAmini hashtag dominated. In Week 6, invitations to protest surged, while by Week 12, support for strikes became the most prominent theme. These shifts indicate a progression from initial mobilization to sustained action, reflecting the movement’s evolution over time.
Discussion and findings
In today’s networked landscape (Rainie and Wellman, 2012), social media have become pivotal platforms for the expression of social protests (Zhuravskaya et al., 2020: 416). Identifying the networked narratives formed on X is essential for understanding contemporary political activism, participation and the dynamics of power struggles within this digital sphere. Moreover, these platforms facilitate ‘news streaming’, where specific issues can quickly escalate into trending topics, capturing widespread public attention. The focus of such news streaming varies based on the nature and context of the civil society involved, reflecting its unique socio-political concerns.
Given the coordinates of Iran’s civil society after the Islamic Revolution and the rise of religious ideology and its norms, new chasms emerged in different areas. One of the primary divides in Iranian society following the revolution has been the gender-based disparity imposed on women, significantly shaping their socio-political lives and experiences (Beidollahkhani and Farkhari, 2025). In this situation, women and the supporters of women’s rights have constantly tried to question the religious norms of the political system and undermine its acceptability by demonstrating civil disobedience in various areas and producing new values. Although this struggle has been continuously present during the past 44 years in the face of the religious foundations of the Islamic Revolution, the emergence of social networks and the characteristics of Iran’s civil society have reshaped it. Its background, contributing factors and consequences have turned this emerging chasm into a fundamental subject of news streaming in recent years. The structure of the Islamic Republic is in conflict with the bureaucratic model. As such, since the government has destroyed the public domain and removed free and independent organizations, informal practices and links that cause news streaming have become vital (Pfaff, 1996: 91–118). In this situation, informal social institutions and networks which are institutionalized in daily connections gain prominence for activism because they are impervious to government control (Scott, 1990: 20; Zuo and Benford, 1995: 131–156). In these circumstances, a considerable portion of the load of declaring activists’ standpoint is on the shoulders of institutionalized social networks. Thus, the demands that are in stark contrast to the fundamental values of the Islamic Republic are transformed and publicized in social networks. One of the most popular social networks is X. With regard to Iran’s issues, X users try to highlight some aspects of an event and, by doing so, spread their ideas. Other users also make it possible to create a trend and turn a particular subject into news streaming via their reposts.
Tangible manifestations of this process were observed during the protests taking place in Iran in 2022 in response to Mahsa Amini’s death under morality police custody. The hashtag #Mahsa-Amini caused an X storm as it became a trend used by various political groups. Examining the central themes emerging from the collected posts with the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini and the typology of users can cast light on various dimensions of this news streaming.
The themes identified in the qualitative analysis reflect the emotional resonance and rhetorical strategies employed by users to amplify their voices. Prominent posts frequently employed personal narratives, calls for solidarity and evocative language to foster emotional connections, especially during the movement’s peak weeks. A deeper analysis reveals that influential posts often leveraged shared cultural references and appeals for justice, rallying users across ideological lines. These strategies amplified the movement’s visibility, creating a cohesive narrative that emphasized unity against perceived injustices.
Exploring the typology of users who added the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini to their posts indicates that various political groups were involved in this news streaming. In fact, besides domestic and foreign opposition groups (i.e. reformists, subversive users and People’s Mojahedin Organization users), users writing on a daily basis and revolutionary users reacted to this event. This theoretical unity can be a waking call for the Islamic Republic (Beidollahkhani, 2022). In other words, it appears that all political currents adopted a similar theoretical standpoint on X in response to this event. This could be a launch pad for the formation of a coalition among these groups, especially the domestic and foreign opposition. If this situation carries on, the ruling government will face a serious security threat, which may end up in revolution. Indeed, revolutions are typically the result of the collusion of different sections of the opposition (Tilly, 1978: 156).
On the other hand, although various political groups shared the same opinion in relation to this event, it is assumed that subversive groups constituted the leaders of the related X storm given the frequency of the #Mahsa-Amini posts produced by them. Content analysis of the highly repeated themes confirms this assumption.
In other words, the type of recurring themes shows that there seems to be no compromise in the support for protests, civil actions and strikes that may lead to a revolution. Thus, the pioneers of this X storm intended to eliminate political Islam by targeting the political legitimacy of the ruling system.
Assuming that a campaign requires structural and cultural opportunities (especially the availability of a superb framework for the uprising, such as an ideological narrative, which gives legitimacy to the protests), it seems that the content published by the users aimed to shape a social movement. MacAdam posits that ideological or cultural contradictions that represent a marked contrast between a highly resonant cultural value and conventional social practices, sudden dissatisfaction caused by dramatic, common or unexpected events, human catastrophes, important decisions by judicial courts, and state violence which enhances people’s awareness are some structural and cultural opportunities that may pave the way for the formation of a movement (Goodwin and James, 1999).
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, anti-feminist laws and culture produced in the context of political Islam, which have made life difficult for women, are some concrete examples of these ideological contradictions. Four decades after the Islamic Revolution, work has been attempted to make these ideological contradictions fade, especially during the presidency of the reformists, when this has happened more seriously. But even the efforts attributed to Islamic feminism movements in these periods could not diminish these contradictions but only added to them. These trends themselves, which were formed during reformist periods, had serious paradoxes because they were always trying to combine the Islamic trend, which has imposed unequal rules for women, with the feminist liberal trends that seek to achieve equal rights for women. Finally, these conditions have put the situation of women in the Islamic Republic in a fragile state, and therefore these ideological contradictions have always existed and the events that happened in the Islamic Republic regarding the oppression of women, which arose from these ideological contradictions, have always added to public dissatisfaction with the government. These conditions have caused many women in the Islamic Republic to be revolutionary and go against the regime, with many of them wanting to overthrow it. Mahsa Amini’s death in the custody of the morality police can be regarded as an example of the imposed dissatisfaction. The presence of these structural and cultural opportunities shows that Iranian society is ready for a new social movement.
In the next stage, qualitative analysis of the highly repeated themes in alignment with the uprising indicated that the news streaming originating from the posts containing the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini had been transformed from a mere news event to a new movement in the social network, with its central themes revolving around the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini with the aim of toppling the Islamic Republic.
In other words, the three themes – namely ‘trying to introduce and trend the hashtag #Mahsa-Amini’, ‘invitation to protests’ and ‘supporting strikes’ – in a sense comprise the beginning of a new social movement. This somehow carries a political code that foremost affects the legitimacy of the ruling political system.
According to Porta and Diani (2020), four key features of social movements are informal interaction networks, shared identities and solidarities, collective action based on the conflicts and the use of conflicts.
Informal interaction networks: This refers to an informal network connecting various individuals, groups or organizations. Similar to broader semantic systems, these networks facilitate the circulation of essential sources of practice (i.e. information, experiences, expertise and financial resources). They thus contribute to the mobilization of sources and provide the opportunity for introducing alternative world-views and lifestyles.
Shared identities and solidarities: Shared beliefs and viewpoints are essential to form a collective identity. The common unifying factor is shaped via revisiting the available ideas or proposing a totally new idea.
Collective action based on the conflicts: Activists who are engaged in a social movement try to oppose a social phenomenon at the systematic or non-systematic level. The prerequisites of social conflict are the presence of a common phenomenon with different interpretations and the adoption of incompatible claims/demands by various activists.
The use of conflicts: New social movements always utilize various forms of protest instead of participating in the voting process or proposing their opinions through normal procedures.
New social movements do not conform to a specific organizational form; rather, various parties and currents may coexist within them (Della Porta and Diani, 1999). The three features of new social movement – collective identity, informal networks and fluid boundaries – align closely with the themes emerging from this study, emphasizing the diverse and dynamic nature of social movements.
Figure 9 illustrates the three key features identified in our analysis: collective identity, informal networks and fluid boundaries. These features, highlighted by Della Porta and Diani (1999), are crucial in understanding the dynamic nature of new social movements. Collective identity represents the shared sense of belonging and common purpose among participants. In our analysis, it was evident that the collective identity formed around the hashtag #MahsaAmini unified diverse individuals and groups in their call for justice and change, trying to introduce and trend Mahsa Amini’s hashtag. Informal networks indicate the loosely structured, non-hierarchical connections that facilitate communication and coordination. The use of X exemplifies how informal networks enable rapid dissemination of information and mobilization efforts, bypassing traditional organizational constraints, as seen in the calls to protest. Finally, fluid boundaries reflect the permeable and evolving nature of social movements, allowing for a broad range of participants and activities. The protests following Mahsa Amini’s death demonstrated fluid boundaries, as people from various backgrounds and ideologies came together to challenge the political system, supporting strikes and other forms of dissent.
Three main features of the new social movement in the Islamic Republic that emerged after Mahsa Amini’s death.
It is thus argued that the three dominant themes which emerged through studying posts published in three different weeks of Iran’s 2022 uprising not only demonstrate the events related to the protests, but also indicate the formation of a new movement. This new movement was constructed by individuals who define themselves in the light of public interest and a public identity. It can be regarded as a super movement which is far greater than a gender-based campaign organized to pursue women’s rights. This movement has challenged the present order and discourse. This type of political activism can combine various struggles (against women’s oppression, religious oppression and state terrorism) in an organic unity.
Conclusion
The analysis of the #MahsaAmini movement on X highlights the pivotal role of digital platforms in shaping contemporary political activism within constrained political environments. The hashtag not only served as a conduit for disseminating information but also as a powerful tool for unifying disparate political groups under a shared narrative of resistance against systemic gender-based oppression and state violence. This study reveals that the emergence of informal networks and collective identity in the online space enabled the swift mobilization of public sentiment, transforming a singular event into a broader social movement.
The patterns observed in the #MahsaAmini movement align with global trends in digital activism, such as #BlackLivesMatter and the Arab Spring, where social media served as a critical rallying platform. In these movements, digital spaces provided the infrastructure for collective identity formation, rapid information dissemination and the orchestration of coordinated actions, creating sustained momentum. This study demonstrates that digital activism in Iran reflects broader global practices, indicating that social media’s role in mobilizing political action transcends national boundaries and cultural contexts, resonating across diverse socio-political landscapes. The unique case of #MahsaAmini suggests that digital platforms can amplify marginalized voices, facilitate cross-ideological coalitions and cultivate a shared sense of purpose even in the face of authoritarian restrictions.
While X has played a visible role in rallying support for movements like #MahsaAmini, it is essential to acknowledge that digital activism alone may not precipitate political change. The ‘Twitter [X] revolution’ hypothesis often oversimplifies the complexities of socio-political movements. Rather, platforms like X offer a space for initial mobilization, fostering collective identity and amplifying shared grievances. However, achieving substantial and lasting change necessitates the translation of online solidarity into sustained offline action and structural engagement. This underscores both the limitations and the potential of digital activism: while instrumental in shaping the narrative and visibility of social movements, these platforms must be complemented by coordinated grass-roots efforts and strategic leadership to address systemic challenges. The global relevance of this analysis suggests that the dynamics observed in the #MahsaAmini movement may serve as a blueprint for understanding the evolving role of digital platforms in political struggles worldwide, particularly in regions where state repression seeks to silence dissent.
Footnotes
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.