How messaging technology is helping to fuel global protests GlobeBusiness
following the death of George Floyd. Some of that involves secure messaging services such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, which can encrypt messages to thwart spies. Those apps, along with others for listening to police scanners and recording video, are enjoying an uptick in popularity.But experts say convenience and reach are key.
Half a century ago during the civil rights protests, Prof. Jones said, it was almost impossible to know what was going on during a protest. “There was a lot of rumour, a lot of hearsay,” he said. “Now you can reach everyone almost instantaneously.” During a peaceful rally in Providence, Rhode Island, on Friday, Anjel Newmann, 32, said that while she’s mostly using Instagram and Facebook to organize, younger people are using Snapchat. The main problem: It’s hard to tell which online flyers are legitimate. “That’s one of the things we haven’t figured out yet,” she said. “There was a flyer going around saying this was cancelled today.
Meanwhile, apps such as Police Scanner and 5-0 Police Scanner, which allow anyone to listen to live police dispatch chatter – and may be illegal in some states – racked up 213,000 downloads over the weekend, Apptopia said. That is 125 per cent more than the weekend before and a record for the category. Citizen, which sends real-time alerts and lets users post live video of protests and crime scenes, was downloaded 49,000 times.
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