RUMORING THEORY AND THE INTERNET - A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING THE GRASS-ROOTS

The Internet is the newest medium of communication used by movement ac tivists. As such, it has advantages and disadvantages. This article us es a rumoring framework to explain how the Internet works to diffuse i nformation. Using the framework presented, the author discusses how so cial movement organizations working at the grassroots level are using the new technology to further their causes. In addition, the author lo oks at the implications of grassroots organizations' use of the Intern et in the future by analyzing the growth of this new medium of communi cation. This article concludes that although the Internet is quickly g rowing and becoming more accessible to users around the world, several dimensions of the technology are political. The degree to which the I nternet will influence social movements depends on the extent and ways that it is used by grassroots organizations in the next 7 years.