SURVEY | Facebook had ‘great influence’ on May protests

It has bee confirmed that Facebook played a significant role in encouraging Macau’s population to take part in May’s unprecedented protests against a controversial bill that would have granted generous retirement packages to government officials. A study carried out by ERS e-Research Lab, a company specializing in public opinion research studies, has shown that Facebook exerted great influence on the two protests that were held in May, and which led the government to withdraw the bill.
News agency Lusa reported that the study – conducted by Wenny Cao, Angus Cheong and Zizi Li –
looked into 12 Facebook events that took place between April 20 and May 31, involving over 36 groups and 181,106 people.
They found that millions of people had changed their profile pictures, or published images and iconic messages relating to the Chief Executive.
Facebook also served to urge Macau citizens to use white t-shirts throughout the protests, to show their opposition to a bill that would provide lavish compensation and retirement packages to the Chief Executive and other top government officials.
The famed social network also served another purpose, as a high number of videos featuring protestors chanting pro-democracy songs were posted.
The study also shows that Facebook posts in Macau regarding the compensation bill have had an impact in overseas regions, such as in Taiwan, where many young people from Macau have chosen to study.
“This fact has proven that social media was the battlefield for all people who were concerned about the issue, no matter whether they were staying in or outside Macau,” it reads.
The research study also suggests that Facebook was indeed crucial in persuading citizens to join the protests. “As more and more people got involved in the protests, the voice of the opposition became more and more powerful. It was then easier to raise participants’ expectations in reaching the objective of the action,” the authors of the study said. CP