Empowering Housing Movements: Digital Strategies for Reclaiming Legitimacy and Social Justice

This study examines how Social Movements (SMs), with a particular focus on housing movements, utilise digital networks to advance their political objectives and resist narratives of delegitimisation and criminalisation. While the role of digital platforms in the strategies of SMs has been the subject of significant academic inquiry, less attention has been paid to the nuanced ways in which these movements counteract the negative portrayals and disinformation campaigns often propagated by traditional media outlets and entrenched political powers. Assuming that the internet functions as a new public sphere where disinformation is pervasive and SMs are frequently targeted by attacks on their legitimacy, this research aims to investigate the communication strategies developed by housing movements.

The study's objective is to analyse the specific tactics employed by housing movements to harness digital media in order to challenge mainstream narratives that undermine their legitimacy and to advocate for the right to housing as a fundamental social issue. Special attention is given to how these movements mobilise discourses centred on care, solidarity, and social justice, not merely as rhetorical tools but as integral components of their digital activism. By framing their campaigns through these values, housing movements aim to foster a sense of community and shared purpose, countering the fragmentation often induced by disinformation.

This paper aims to contribute to a broader understanding of the dynamics between social movements, digital communication, and the struggle against disinformation. It seeks to highlight the strategic importance of digital networks in empowering movements to not only resist delegitimisation but also to reframe public debates around housing and social justice in a way that centres on care, solidarity, and transformative action.