The Day Wikipedia Stood Still: Wikipedia's Editors Participation in the 2012 Anti-SOPA Protests As a Case Study of Online Organization Empowering an International and National Political Opportunity Structures

This paper contributes to the discussion on Internet mobilization and on international social movements' ability to influence national policy, by analyzing the motivations and the participation levels of Wikipedia volunteer editors (Wikipedians). The event studied is the “first Internet strike” of 18th January 2012 against the SOPA legislation proposed in the USA. Wikipedians from all around the world took part in the vote concerning whether Wikipedia should undertake a protest action aimed at influencing American policymakers. Wikipedia editors are shown to share values of the international free culture movement, through experienced Wikipedians were also likely to be conflicted about whether taking part in a protest action is not violating the site's principle of encyclopedic neutrality. Wikipedia's participation in this protest action allowed internationally-based netizens to have a visible impact on the US national legislation. As such, Wikipedia can be seen as an international social movement organization, whose participation (24 hour site's blackout) was a major factor that led to a creation of an international political opportunity structure (worldwide awareness of and protests against a proposed American legislation) enabling a national political opportunity structure (American citizens who otherwise would not be aware of the issue became so and became politically active)