Mckesson Misses Twitter as Protest Mobilization Tool
DeRay Mckesson said at Web Summit 2026 in Lisbon that platform changes have made rapid street mobilization harder than it was a decade ago.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Internet
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Speaking at a Web Summit 2026 session titled From Chaos to the Campaign in Lisbon, Portugal, DeRay Mckesson said he misses Twitter as a tool for mobilizing protesters. He said Instagram and TikTok demand longer, more polished content than real-time tweeting.
Why it matters
Mckesson's remarks point to a shift in how activists organize, as video-first platforms slow the path from event to public response. The comments come as immigration enforcement protests draw attention in the United States, where he said opposition is amplified more easily than a decade ago.
The remarks are a single speaker's firsthand assessment rather than measured data, and no platform usage or protest-turnout figures were cited. The comparison spans roughly a decade of changes in social media tools and political conditions.
The players
DeRay Mckesson
Mckesson is executive director of Campaign Zero and co-host of the Pod Save the People podcast from Crooked Media, and he rose to prominence as a Black Lives Matter protester in 2014.
Web Summit
Web Summit is a large annual technology conference that gathers startups, investors and industry leaders, and its 2026 edition was held in Lisbon, Portugal.
Maer Roshan
Roshan is editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter and moderated the session with Mckesson.
The details
At the session, moderated by Maer Roshan, editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter, Mckesson recalled that Twitter and Vine helped move protesters into the street before Trump was first elected. He said Elon Musk's rebranding of Twitter as X and the rise of Instagram and TikTok have changed digital storytelling.
Timeline
2014: Mckesson first gained prominence as a street-level Black Lives Matter protester.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026: Mckesson spoke at the Web Summit session in Lisbon.
Big Picture
Mckesson's comments echo the early Black Lives Matter organizing of 2014, when Twitter was central to coordinating street protests. His account suggests that the platform shift from text-based posting to video-first feeds has changed that organizing playbook.
For people who organize or follow protests online, the shift toward longer video content means updates may take more time to produce and share. Readers who rely on social platforms for breaking civic news may find that real-time information now arrives more slowly than it once did.
The takeaway
Organizing tools shape how quickly people can respond to events, and platform design choices can change that speed. Readers following civic movements may want to watch which formats now carry the most urgent updates.
Further reading
For more on how platforms shape online organizing, see the Internet section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
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