Social media live streaming as affective news in the anti-ELAB movement in Hong Kong

Abstract

abstract This article uses the theory of affective news to examine social media live streaming during the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement. We argue that this specific form of affective news was enabled by the affordances of the Facebook Live platform, collectively produced by journalists who were not bound by conventional detached practices and audiences who actively engaged in emotional reactions and discussions, and offering an immersive, unpredictable, sensational, and dramatic experience of collective witnessing through the unique content and format. This case enriches our understanding of the emotional turn of journalism and provides implications for digital journalism and social movements.