Liberation technology in El Salvador: Re-appropriating social media among alternative media projects

Abstract

This ethnographic study explores how four alternative media projects in El Salvador integrated digital technologies-particularly social media-into their practices, and whether incorporating these technologies affected citizen participation not only in the media production process, but in a broader discursive sphere of civic and political life as well. Summer Harlow investigates the factors that influence the extent to which alternative media producers are able to use digital tools in liberating ways for social change by opening a space for participation in technology (as content producers) and through technology (as engaged citizens). The book advances existing literature with two main contributions: extending our understanding of the digital divide to include inequalities of social media use, and including technology use-whether liberating or not-as a fundamental component of a mestizaje approach to the study of alternative media.