This article reviews recent research on social media platforms as outlets of street protest reporting by activists, posing the question of whether such outlets constitute a cultural source for protest movements. Given the “many‐to‐many” dynamic that alternative journalism via social media offers in contrast to the “one‐to‐many” approach of traditional media, there are implications for incursions into more democratic, participatory cultures and structures. Existing literature indicates that user‐generated content via social media potentially is known to supplant traditional journalism in protest situations due to advantages such as first‐hand access. Further, research demonstrates that activist reporting supplements and integrates with traditional journalism, and that interdependence develops. We also review the boundary conditions that constrain the use of social‐media platforms for protest reporting.

中文翻译：

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社交媒体是公共新闻吗？数字时代的抗议报道

本文回顾了最近在社会媒体平台上作为激进主义者进行街头抗议报道的媒介的研究，提出了这样的媒介是否构成抗议运动的文化来源的问题。与传统媒体的“一对多”方法相比，通过社交媒体进行的替代新闻提供的“多对多”动态，对侵入更民主，参与性的文化和结构具有影响。现有文献表明，由于存在诸如第一手访问等优势，在抗议情况下，通过社交媒体用户生成的内容有可能取代传统新闻。此外，研究表明，激进主义者的报道是对传统新闻业的补充和融合，并且相互依存度不断提高。