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Paper short abstract

Moroccan youth use digital activism to resist hegemonic discourses, counter portrayals of disengagement, and create alternative narratives. Drawing on Castells’ counter-power theory, this study of 20 youth shows how online strategies reshape participation, amplify voices, and influence opinion.

Paper long abstract

In an era shaped by social networks, Moroccan youth are redefining political communication through grassroots, bottom-up forms of expression. Their digital activism challenges top-down hegemonic discourses and resists portrayals of youth as politically disengaged, apathetic, or alienated. Through digital counter-discourse, they construct alternative narratives and cultivate a participatory subculture that contests institutional hierarchies and reshapes the political landscape. This study examines how both activist and non-activist youth, through horizontal networking, youth forums, and coalition-building, subvert traditional political structures, blur the boundaries between discourse and practice, and develop hybrid, digital grassroots forms of political activism and practice politics from below. Grounded in Castells’ (2007) theory of communication, power, and counter-power in the network society, the study explores how social networks introduce new actors, rhetorical styles, and innovative forms of activism into the virtual public sphere. Through thematic analysis of rhetorical and visual strategies used by 20 influential Moroccan youth, the study shows how their online content drives a discursive shift in youth mobilization and influences public opinion. The Z Generation movement protest illustrates how Moroccan youth amplify grievances, address social concerns, and wield influence as agents of change beyond traditional channels. More broadly, the study situates these practices within the Global South, revealing how local cultural forms are reimagined through digital networks. The findings challenge conventional understandings of activism and dismantle binary narratives of youth political exclusion and inclusion.

Keywords: Political activism; network society; discourse and counter-discourse; social networks; Moroccan youth