CODEPINK Alert: Mediated Citizenship in the Public Sphere

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between activism and technology through a discourse analysis of a web-based activist group, CODEPINK, a selfidentified women's movement for peace. It explores CODEPINK'S website, along with mainstream newspaper reports about the group. The paper demonstrates that the web-based discourse negotiates the group's identity, and facilitates intrapublic and interpublic deliberation. An analysis of newspaper reports shows that CODEPINK has achieved a certain measure of recognition in the broader public sphere, but that mainstream recognition comes with the consequences of simplified and polarized coverage. Ultimately, the Internet serves several valuable functions for these activists. CODEPINK has used the web as a way to: provide members with an indigenous medium; develop group consensus through centralized organization and mobilization activities; and establish access, via publicity, to the broader public sphere. These uses are significant because they have enabled CODEPINK to achieve a measure of recognition and legitimacy, or public credibility. Overall, the paper illustrates that the Internet can operate as a tool and as a space for citizens seeking to gain recognition in and meaningful access to mediated or face-to-face public spheres.

Deliberative Democracy Online: Bridging Networks With Digital Technologies

“…Yet, when examining the quality of this attention, it can be seen that such coverage often simplifies the actions and ideals of activists (Barasko & Schaffner, 2006;Gitlin, 1980;Rhodes, 1999). This situation has been the case for CodePink (Simone, 2008). As such, Code Pink relies on interactive digital technologies to bridge networks for sharing information, generating awareness, and mobilizing action without the problems associated with mainstream media gatekeeping and framing.…”

“…Furthermore, mainstream news coverage ties the group to the networks of other publics, who in turn may visit Code Pink's Web site. This news coverage often stems from actions the members take in embodied spaces, such as congressional hearings, and encourages some audience members to visit the group's Web site (Simone, 2008).…”

“…The first of these examined the Webbased discourse of CodePink, an antiwar/peace organization (Simone, 2008), whereas the second involved interviews and observations of activists involved with issues related to media reform in the United States (Simone, 2006). These studies will provide useful illustrations of the concepts discussed throughout the article.…”

Egyptian Revolution 2.0

“…283-284) The alternative, anti-hegemonic nature of the Internet, and its related applications, such as blogging, has allowed politically marginalized groups to "use [it] as a means for the formation of counter-publics, the articulation of identities and oppositional discourses, and the contestation of the discursive boundaries of the mainstream public sphere" (Dahlberg, 2007 , p. 60). Along the same lines, Simone ( 2006 ) argued that the web provides an outlet for developing and disseminating counter-discourse. Subaltern voices can find their way into popular consciousness with or without the support of the mainstream press.…”

‘They need our help’: Non-governmental organizations and the subjectifying dynamics of the military as social cause

“…While precise statistics are not available for all military-related charitable endeavours in the United States, the rapid growth of the veterans' charitable sector since 2000 (a 77 per cent increase compared to a 43 per cent sector average) and 2008 (up 41 per cent compared with 19 per cent across charities overall) may be taken as indicative of the prioritization of "the troops" as a locus for charitable giving and community service (Hrywna 2013). Anti-war NGOs, though underrepresented in the mainstream media (Hayes and Guardino 2010;Murray et al 2008), also play a vital role in public discourse regarding the troops and the global war on terror, as the mass protests of organizations such as the Stop the War Coalition and United for Peace and Justice, as well as the more radical "performance" protests of groups such as CodePink, constitute antiwar/peace groups, collectively, "as a sizable symbolic force" (Pickerill and Webster 2006, 417;Simone 2006) -and often the only identifiable public opposition to war. This paper thus examines the increasing role of civil society organizations in the US and UK in representing "the troops", and thus the status of civil-military relations, in the post-9/11 era.…”