A comparative analysis of online mobilization through slogan specificity: The case of the countermovements to #BlackLivesMatter

This study examines the effect of slogan specificity on the mobilization potential of movements on social media platforms. We argue that specific slogans attract more narrowly defined audiences with consistent interpretations. In contrast, vague slogans appeal to broader, more heterogeneous audiences whose interpretations are often diverse, inconsistent, and fragmented. To analyze the link between slogan specificity and mobilization potential, we introduce three concepts: diversity (the range of causes), consistency (continuity of cause related messages), and interconnectivity (the degree to which users refer to common causes). We test this argument on 709,222 tweets of the countermovements of Black Lives Matter (All Lives Matter, Blue/Police Lives Matter, and White Lives Matter) using network analysis and natural language processing techniques. Our findings substantiate the hypothesized trade-off between slogan specificity and mobilization potential. This study contributes to existing literature with a theoretical framework for understanding the mobilization dynamics of social movements in digital environments.