A note on who gets to be the loudest and most visible in a decentralized movement: after observing decentralized movements transnationally, @zeynep notes that despite not having a big stage, often there are loud voices that take up lots of space in online attention economy.

These voices don't necessarily represent majority view of movement participants-they may simply have the most time, be the most aggressive, have the most social status, or are good at marketing.

As these people take up more space, folks outside the movement may see them as "de facto spokespersons" who represent the movement.

Applying this to HK, KOLs and Trumpers are loud, vocal, and visible, as KOLs have much to profit from this. Meanwhile, the chilling effect of the NSL forecloses the space for other voices to emerge in public spaces, but that does not mean that they do not exist.

While I do not agree with all her analysis, Tufekci's Twitter and Tear Gas is helpful in understanding the dynamics, limitations, and possibilities of decentralized social movements. https://www.twitterandteargas.org/