BERT in focus: topic modeling the transformation of collective identities of the participants of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the counter-protest

Counter-protests have become a common response to protest movements around the world. Understanding this process is often based on collective identities formed in opposition to an out-group. In the context of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the initial image of the “other” was mainly attributed to the authorities. However, the emergence of the All Lives Matter (ALM) counter-protest movement has changed the way how collective identities are constructed – now the image of the “other” is also attributed to participants in the counter-protest movement, introducing a new layer of complexity into the dynamics of identities and raising questions about how these identities are transformed when faced with counter-protest. Applying a new approach in BERT topic modeling, the author analyzes thematic shifts in the posts of BLM protesters between 2013 and 2014 on the social network Twitter (X). The application of the BERT topic modeling model allowed to conduct a detailed analysis of online messages, capturing contextual dependencies and revealing the complexities of the transformation of collective identity in response to the emergence of the ALM counter-protest movement. The study contributes to the existing literature by filling two gaps: demonstrating the methodological advantage of using BERT on empirics and exploring how the collective identities of protest movement participants are transformed in the context of protest and counter-protest dynamics. BERT topic modeling is a powerful tool for studying the transformation of collective identities, offering a promising methodological basis for further research at the intersection of protest, counter-protest, and collective identities in the digital age.

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