In 2011, a demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street began in New York, prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world. It all started innocuously enough with a July 13, 2011 blog post urging people to #OccupyWallStreet. It turned out, with enough momentum and a keen sense of how to use social media, it actually is. The Occupy movement, decentralized and leaderless, has mobilized thousands of people around the world almost exclusively via the Internet. To a large degree through Twitter, and also with platforms like Facebook and Meetup, crowds have connected and gathered. Decade later,
a Manhattan woman was awarded over $400,000 by a federal jury after suing New York City and its police department, saying she suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was thrown to the ground by a police sergeant while serving as a medic for protesters during 2012 Occupy Wall Street events.
