Social media has power for organizers, but it also offers law enforcement the power to intimidate.
Several contextual gaps and assumptions contributed to the charge against Matteson. While Lenk reported Matteson to the county attorney for prosecution, Lenk admitted that the Rally for the Rivers post didn’t identify which individuals organized the event or published the flier, nor did it divulge premeditated plans to trespass after the rally.
Similarly, an officer confirmed that the department reviewed several livestream videos to verify who went to the construction site and checked the Facebook pages of the event’s sponsors to deduce who else might be implicated. This is how Matteson came to be accused of a crime.
Matteson’s story is a reminder of the risks of social media surveillance directed at political protesters, risks that are particularly acute when the police may be receiving funding from the very corporations that are the objects of protest. Her ultimate acquittal does not wipe away the experience of being watched, threatened, charged, and put on trial.
With the trial behind her, Matteson’s resolve to continue her activism work is unwavering, but her approach has changed. She now shies away from relying too heavily on social media as she is more conscious of her vulnerability as an organizer online. Instead, she finds that “some of the work is done best face to face, talking to people in the community.” But she remains uncowed and is campaigning against a mining project in the area. “I’m committed to standing here and not going away,” she said.
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