Experience of determining the influencers' impactful role in digital protest communication (on the basis of the Black Lives Matter movement)

this article is devoted to the role of influencers in digital protest communication using the #BlackLivesMatter movement as an example. An algorithm for searching for influential persons using the Hashtagify.me and Social Searcher services is demonstrated by identifying key actors through the analysis of hashtags and network activity. The article demonstrates that influencers combine the functions of information distributors and discourse moderators, enhancing emotional connections through authentic content. The combination of algorithmic and linguistic approaches provides for the prediction of their actions and audience reactions. Data visualization (using platform interfaces as an example) confirms the effectiveness of methods for targeted analysis. The nature of the transformation of protest practices under the influence of digital platforms is emphasized, where influencers become key mediators. The practical significance of the work is related to the development of strategies for managing information flows in the context of social protest movements.

influencers, social networks, lexical-semantic field, protest movements, BLM