Visual content of Twitter during the 2018 protests in Iran: Analysis of its role and function

Abstract

This study examines the visual content of Twitter posts, including photos and videos, published during the 2018 protests in Iran. Our main objective is to understand how these protests were visually represented on Twitter. The theoretical framework of this study is drawn from the ‘dynamic dual path way model of approach coping’ that categorizes responses of collective action in emotion-focused and problem-focused coping. Our findings reveal that visual content with efficacy-eliciting characteristics was posted more often than emotion-arousing content. Furthermore, visual content with more protest activity is more likely to be retweeted.