In 2020, major protests erupted in Belarus after the presidential election. However, they were violently supressed by the government and since then the authoritarian regime in the country has become even more restrictive. Social media played a crucial role in these protests. How exactly did they help organize the protest despite of the Internet shutdown in the country? Do social media still have a democratizing effect on the society? What is the situation in Belarus now, in the beginning of 2022, and what are the perspectives for the digital activism country?

Dr. Aliaksandr Herasimenka from the Oxford Internet Institute talks among other things about the role Telegram played for protesters and about the power of social media that can challenge authoritarian regimes. The episode is hosted by Michelle Laschinski, Lucia Cecilia Magro and Antonia Vollbrecht.