Paper short abstract:

Virtual communities often prove profound sophistication of political activism by raising specific issues in comprehensive ways. In Romania, the online movement #REZIST - emerged as a form of resistance towards government's intention to make the institutional fight against corruption irrelevant.

Paper long abstract:

Fifty years after 1968 world-wide protest movements, it has become almost impossible to imagine youngsters able to rise, nowadays, in such an intense fashion. We could say social media has "calmed down the spirits", acting as a valve for social frustration towards establishment's deeds.

However, virtual communities often prove profound sophistication of political activism by bringing up specific issues (like de-forestation or rule of law) in a comprehensive way, rather than tackling general matters, like it used to happen with public opinion till web 2.0.

Even after becoming an EU member, Romania still faces deep socioeconomic disfunctions. The first half of 2017 saw Bucharest and several other cities rising against the newly elected left-wing government: an after-hours 'occupy' movement started on mid-January at -15C. The online # Coruptia ucide (Corruption kills) movement became #REZIST - resistance towards government intention to make the institutional fight against corruption irrelevant by passing an amnesty law for politicians or businessmen convicted for less than 5 years. The street protests gathered generations X,Y & Z (parents bringing their kids) under a common cause. Through participant observation and photo-video techniques, I was able to collect relevant data of this major social event.