Digital media use and participation leadership in social protests: The case of Tiananmen commemoration in Hong Kong

• It extends the extant literature on new media and protest participation by focusing on the notion of participation leadership.
• It constructs a model linking digital media use to online political communication activities and participation leadership.
• It focuses on the case of Tiananmen commemoration in Hong Kong, one of the most enduring collective actions in the city.
• It utilizes a rally onsite survey, which allows the study to focus on the rally participants.
• It illustrates that digital communication has stronger impact among the younger generation.

During the process of social mobilization for contentious collective actions, some ordinary citizens may play the role of participation leaders by making an early participation decision and calling upon others to join the collective action. This study extends the literature on the impact of digital media on political participation by examining if digital media can influence not whether individuals would participate in offline protests or not, but whether people would take up the role of participation leaders in such protests. Using the annual rally in Hong Kong commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen movement in China as a case study, usage of Facebook, microblogging services, and online alternative media are found to contribute to online political communication activities, which in turn lead to participation leadership. Further analysis shows that the impact of online political communication activities on participation leadership exists only among the young rally participants. Implications of the findings are discussed.