How Thai protesters are using emoticons to stay ahead of police

Thai protest organisers asked supporters on Facebook whether they should hold rallies that evening: The ‘Care’ emoticon signaled ‘rest for one day’, while the ‘Wow’ emoticon was a vote to ‘keep going!’ Platforms like Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Telegram Group Inc have emerged as the backbone of the youth-led movement posing an unprecedented challenge to King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Thailand’s royalist establishment. — AFP

In Thailand’s democracy, emoticons and retweets are becoming the new ballots.

On Monday, protest organisers asked supporters on Facebook whether they should hold rallies that evening: The “Care” emoticon signaled “rest for one day”, while the “Wow” emoticon was a vote to “keep going!” The majority on Facebook chose to continue the protests. A similar poll was also done on Twitter, using like and retweet buttons for the vote.