Hard Rock Hallelujah! Empowering Reflexive Political Action on the Internet

The role of the Internet is becoming increasingly significant with regard to political participation and mobilisation. The Internet is a powerful tool in gathering coalitions and organising mobilisation of any kind. However, it is also transforming political styles, forms and the organisational structuring of political activities. In this article, the authors analyse the nature of the political struggle and resistance taking place on the Internet by scrutinising the Finnish Internet protest campaigning against gossip journalism in May 2006. This campaign emerged almost entirely in the Internet environment around the emotional turmoil caused by the publications of the Eurovision Song Contest winner Lordi’s unmasked pictures. This example shows how citizens have adopted the logic of computer‐mediated communication, and how they employ information and communications technology for reflexive individualised politics.