She presented her recent paper on the messaging platform “Telegram” co-authored by Tanya Lokot, an Associate Professor in Digital Media and Society at the School of Communications at Dublin City University. Mariëlle Wijermars discussed what role Telegram played as an actor in the 2020 Belarus protests, why it was perceived by citizens as an ally in their struggle, and how authorities reacted to the activity of platform users.
The paper, titled “Is Telegram a “harbinger of freedom”? The performance, practices, and perception of platforms as political actors in authoritarian states”, was published in the journal “Post-Soviet Affairs” earlier this year.