What is Elephrame?

Elephrame is an archive of data on pro-democracy movements and campaigns.

What does "Elephrame" mean?

Elephrame is a combination of the words "elephant" and "frame". "Frame" refers to the frames of reference through which each of us sees and interprets the world around us. "Elephant" is a reference to a parable that illustrates the importance of looking at the world through multiple frames of reference.

The parable, which originated in South Asia, tells the story of blind people who were asked to describe an elephant based on their sense of touch. Those who felt the foot said it was like a post; those who felt the tuft of the tail said it was like a broom; those who felt the head said it was like a jar; and so on. As each person described the elephant according to what they felt, they became frustrated with each other and fought. Each person had seen the truth, but from only one frame of reference.

Elephrame is where we bring those frames of reference together so that each of us may come away with a more complete picture of the world around us.

How does Elephrame find demonstrations?

The site's creator, Alisa Robinson, manually searches for reports of demonstrations on search engines, social networks and the websites of organizers as well as in newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. Sometimes, Elephrame also learns about demonstrations when visitors send information about demonstrations missing from Elephrame's charts to elephrame@protonmail.com.

What types of sources does Elephrame use for information on demonstrations?

Press: Includes reports from newspapers, magazines and other periodicals; television and radio reports; and social media posts from reporters covering the demonstration at hand.
Organizers: Includes individuals and organizations that have organized the demonstration at hand.
Law Enforcement: Includes police officers who have shared information about a demonstration, including locations to estimated attendance.
Demonstrators: Includes individuals and organizations that have participated in the demonstration at hand.
Observers: Includes individuals and organizations other than members of the press that have observed, but not participated, in the demonstration.

How does Elephrame determine how many people have participated in a demonstration?

In general, Elephrame determines the number of people who have participated in a demonstration by using the total number of demonstrators reported by the source. If the source reports that the number of demonstrators varied at different points in the protest, Elephrame uses the peak number of demonstrators reported. For example, if a press report states that a protest started with 50 people but eventually grew to 100, Elephrame will enter "100" into its record as the number of demonstrators.

If different sources for the same demonstration have recorded different total or peak numbers, Elephrame will enter the range of reported demonstrators into its record. For example, if a reporter estimates that the total was 500 people and an organizer estimates that the total was 700 people, Elephrame will enter "500-700" into its record as the number of demonstrators.

When Elephrame is unable to find a source for the number of demonstrators, Elephrame will either record the number as "Unclear" or estimate the number based on photos, videos or other available information. When Elephrame has estimated the number, the number will appear with "(elephrame)" next to it on the chart.

What specific time ranges (e.g., 12AM-12PM) do Elephrame's documented times ("Morning", "Afternoon", etc.) refer to?

The majority of documented times in Elephrame's charts are based on the times reported by Elephrame's sources (e.g., press reports). Therefore, the specific time ranges (e.g., 12AM-12PM) for the majority of documented times ("Morning," "Afternoon," etc.) recorded for each demonstration will depend on how the source measures time.

When Elephrame uses the timestamp on a social media post for the time, it uses the following guide:

Morning = 12AM to 11:59AM
Afternoon = 12PM to 4:49PM
Evening = 5PM to 11:59PM

When the time is listed as "Continuous," it means that the protest went on continuously for more than 24 hours.

Has Elephrame recorded every demonstration?

Probably not. While Elephrame does its best to find every protest hidden in every corner of the Web, some demonstrations may be beyond Elephrame's reach. For instance, some people protest, but their protest is not covered by media and neither they nor anyone else shares it online. These types of protests are difficult to find.

We are lucky today because our 21st century technology, from the Internet to smartphones, allows us to record and share information about demonstrations with everybody. This means that demonstrations in small towns with little to no press coverage can be shared with the world. Because of this, Elephrame has been able to record thousands of demonstrations from around the world. Despite this privilege, it is likely that some demonstrations, particularly in small cities and towns (some demonstrations only have 1 participant!), will either not be shared online at all or only be shared in places that Elephrame does not have access to (e.g., private Facebook groups). It is because some demonstrations are hard to find that Elephrame asks people to send it information about demonstrations that are not already included in the record to elephrame@protonmail.com with a link to a social media post, press report or other source of information verifying that the demonstration took place.

How can I share a demonstration that is not included in Elephrame's record or report an error in the record?

If you want to let Elephrame know about a demonstration missing from its record, send an email to elephrame@protonmail.com about the demonstration and include a link to an article, social media post, etc. verifying that the demonstration took place. If you want to report an error on one or more of Elephrame's demonstrations, send an email to elephrame@protonmail.com explaining the error and include a link to an article, social media post, etc. that has the correct information.

If you have any questions that were not answered above, please send them to elephrame@protonmail.com.