The Internet has been widely credited with sparking a revolution in everyth
ing from consumer shopping habits and the management of stock portfolios to
the practice of popular democracy. It is also leaving its mark on the dyna
mics of popular contention. Political protest traditionally relied heavily
on claims makers' gathering in the streets to contest power holders. The In
ternet is altering this dynamic by electronically promoting the diffusion o
f protest ideas and tactics efficiently and quickly across the globe. Less
concerned with such constraints as time and geographic space, it has caught
policymakers off guard with its ease of public accessibility and immediacy
of impact. This cyber-diffusion, however, has a cautionary side: while sig
nificantly enhancing the potential for disparate individuals and groups to
collectively pool resources and strategy, the Internet also holds the power
to turn unreliable and unverifiable information into a global electronic r
iot.