Paper short abstract:

The paper will discuss the problem of online presence of protest rallies and the acceptance of their fabrication or falsification in social media.

Paper long abstract:

On the International Women's Day in 2017 the press and the users of social networks were engaged in the discussion of an action performed by a group Moscow feminist activists who have presumably demonstrated their slogan on a Kremlin tower. The refutations were published by the activists on the next day: this part of action was falsified using Photoshop. Yet in the social media the action was 'real' in the sense that it was perceived as such and led to lengthy discussions.

In the contemporary world where social media became one of the key sources of information, a rally can be performed without leaving the safety of one's home. The important topic of discussion in this situation is the problem of «authenticity» of a political action in virtual space. The users reflect on the question if the action which was only long enough to take a snapshot and post it on Facebook is a «valid» political statement. In other words, they try to establish the borderline between the «real» and the «fake», the «original» and «falsification» in terms of Erving Goffman. In our presentation we will discuss the semiotic mechanisms which enable the users of social media, political activists and the state authorities to frame and reframe offline and online protest in these terms.