How GenZ Moroccans turned Discord into the ‘backbone’ of their protest action

It is just past midnight in Morocco, and thousands of young activists are crowded on to a Discord server as notifications flash, calling them to join an impending vote that will decide the next steps for GenZ 212. Rumours are circulating that King Mohammed VI will address the youth-led movement, which has shaken the country with mass protests, in a speech on Friday.

Hundreds of participants type passionately in the server’s general chat, arguing over whether to pause demonstrations for the week in anticipation of the monarch’s remarks. Others break off into smaller audio rooms, their voices overlapping in heated but orderly debate.

For the past two weeks, this has been the nightly rhythm as young Moroccans have turned Discord, the once niche gaming platform, into a powerful tool for nationwide protests demanding better public services and an end to corruption in the North African kingdom.

GenZ 212, named after Morocco’s international telephone code and recent wave of youth-led social justice movements worldwide, has grown from fewer than 1,000 members at its launch on 18 September to more than 180,000 today.

Analysts say Discord has been essential to sustaining the movement’s decentralised structure. GenZ 212 has deliberately positioned itself as apolitical and unaffiliated, rejecting the hierarchical leadership models that defined earlier movements.

While the February 20 Movement of 2011 relied on Facebook and alliances with political parties and unions, GenZ 212 has turned instead to closed digital spaces, embracing fluid, horizontal forms of organising that reflect a new generation’s political instincts.

Imad Zoukanni, 28, first came across news of the protest on Instagram, then learned that a growing community on Discord was coordinating plans for peaceful demonstrations. His decision to get involved was driven by the loss of his cousin, who had died of breast cancer after enduring months of delays in Morocco’s public health system.

What struck him most was the movement’s structure.

“This wasn’t a party or a movement with a leader. It was a collective uprising of ordinary people. I joined because it gave me hope that we don’t have to accept being ignored any more,” he tells Middle East Eye.

He describes Discord as the movement’s “backbone”, a place where young activists share lived experiences of unemployment, corruption, failing schools and hospitals, and patients abandoned by the system.

“These are the stories the government tries to erase,” he says.

Accessibility and flexibility

The movement also uses the server to plan peaceful protest strategies, discuss demands, share ways to protect themselves from police violence, which caused the death of three people last week, and counter misinformation spread by state-owned media.

Zoukanni says one of the central demands in these discussions is the resignation of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, whose government has presided over a steady decline in public healthcare, driven by privatisation, inadequate services and overcrowded, unsanitary facilities.

Earlier this month, tens of thousands of young Nepalis used Discord to organise anti-government demonstrations that forced the prime minister, Sharma Oli, to resign.

Dr Sahar Khamis, a professor at the University of Maryland and an expert on Arab and Muslim media, told MEE that Discord’s accessibility and flexibility fill a gap left by older platforms, and these characteristics make it especially appealing to young people.

‘This wasn’t a party or a movement with a leader. It was a collective uprising of ordinary people. I joined because it gave me hope that we don’t have to accept being ignored any more’

- Imad Zoukanni, Moroccan GenZ activist

Unlike mainstream social media, Discord is not ruled by algorithms, giving users full control over how information flows. Its thematic channels resemble a blend of Telegram, Slack and Teams, buzzing with simultaneous discussions on strategy, logistics and messaging.

The platform works across devices, integrates audio, video and text, and makes it easy for large communities to coordinate in real time.

GenZ 212 uses regional Discord channels to tailor strategies to the specific challenges of each city. In Marrakesh, for example, protests were met with immediate repression because of the city’s tourist visibility. Organisers responded by shifting meeting locations away from tourist areas to avoid police crackdowns.

Channels for young Moroccans in the diaspora have also become spaces for global coordination, allowing nationals abroad to join discussions and plan demonstrations in cities including Paris and Montreal.

“The diaspora are our international allies,” Zoukanni says.

“They know what it feels like to leave home because of the government. In a way, they’re carrying our fight into spaces where the Moroccan state tries to project a false image while hiding the reality of poverty and repression.”

Protesters have criticised the government for pouring billions into football infrastructure ahead of this winter's Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup, accusing authorities of chasing international prestige abroad while neglecting basic healthcare, education and services in a country marked by widespread poverty and high youth unemployment.

‘Digital tug of war’

Meanwhile, privacy settings and pseudonyms offer a layer of protection that open platforms like Facebook no longer provide in an era of heightened surveillance.

This shift is part of a broader trend.

“When the Arab Spring happened in 2011, governments were taken by surprise,” says Dr Khamis. “Now regimes are much more prepared and technologically savvy themselves.”

The first GenZ 212 demonstrations on 27 September caught authorities off guard with their peaceful yet disruptive spontaneity. Since then, what Dr Khamis calls “a digital tug of war” has unfolded between activists and the state, each adjusting to the other’s tactics in real time.

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GenZ 212 is also leveraging other social media platforms and messaging apps, including Telegram and TikTok, to spread its message and coordinate actions. One Moroccan PhD student living in Frankfurt runs an Instagram page to raise awareness of the movement’s demands and dispel misinformation by Moroccan media, which largely relays the authorities’ narrative.

“I felt triggered while looking at social media and media outlets, which are my first sources for understanding the situation in Morocco,” Omar, who uses a pseudonym for safety reasons, tells MEE.

“Hesspress, one of the most well-known media outlets, focused mainly on violence from the protesters and did not mention or spotlight any violence by state police. That was the moment I realised how important social media has become for producing alternative narratives.”

Omar joined Discord to follow discussions, track announcements and understand the movement’s demands.

What stood out to him was Gen Z 212’s emphasis on voting and collective and democratic decision-making, despite the number of users increasing.

The movement’s rapid, horizontal expansion has created organisational challenges.

‘I see it as a form of protest. They’ve realised they can create change by raising their voices online’

- Dr Claudia Flores-Saviaga, researcher at Northeastern University’s Citizen AI Lab

Growing participation fuels misinformation, complicating coordination, while some participants have shared information that could expose the server to legal risks. Proposals to verify identities, such as confirming who is Moroccan, were quickly dismissed as impractical.

Dr Claudia Flores-Saviaga, a digital activism researcher at Northeastern University’s Citizen AI Lab, explains to MEE that participation in online movements typically follows a pattern of self-regulation.

A small core of highly active members coordinates discussions and manages channels, while most users observe or contribute minimally. Over time, communities develop their own informal rules and culture, maintaining order without strict enforcement.

A constant flow of new participants keeps the space dynamic as some become active while others fade away.

With its Discord membership reaching 180,000, GenZ 212 administrators have introduced rules to manage discussions. During large podcast sessions with more than 6,000 participants, users face a three-minute message limit to control chat flow. Microphone access is tightly moderated, and the “raise hand” function was disabled due to overuse.

Meanwhile, smaller audio rooms capped at 15 participants are now used for deeper, more focused conversations. These discussions flow organically between a few speakers and operate without time restrictions or formal limits.

A collective voice

Despite its strengths, Discord has some limitations.

The application’s volunteer-based moderation model has drawn criticism for allowing harassment and violent content to persist. According to its transparency report for the first half of 2024, Discord took down tens of thousands of servers and hundreds of thousands of accounts for policy violations or illegal activity around the world.

The company, based in the US state of Delaware, also works with authorities when required, sharing information on thousands of users with US officials during the first half of 2024 as part of investigations.

Whether it has received or complied with similar requests from Morocco, Nepal or Madagascar remains unknown.

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Dr Flores-Saviaga says Gen Z, raised in the era of online expression, will continue to use social media for activism despite increased surveillance.

“I see it as a form of protest. They’ve realised they can create change by raising their voices online, amplifying their message far beyond their own communities,” she tells MEE.

“Even with more surveillance, they’re adapting by organising in encrypted or private spaces before moving to public platforms to make their actions visible to the world.”

GenZ 212 has released a written list of demands, which include dissolution of the government, the prosecution of corrupt officials as well as broad reforms prioritising education, healthcare, employment, anti-corruption measures and social justice.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Akhannouch expressed the government's willingness to "respond to the social demands" of the young demonstrators and its "readiness for dialogue".

GenZ 212 organisers report overwhelming consensus against appointing representatives or aligning with political groups, driven by deep distrust and security concerns. Past experiences, such as the 2011 protests and the case of Nasser Zefzafi, the Rif Hirak leader sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019, have instilled caution towards appointing representatives.

Others have also rejected government calls to appoint a single negotiator, arguing that the movement’s demands are already public and that such talks would serve political parties more than protesters.

‘At the end of the day, it’s always people on the street who can really make change happen and make a difference, not the tools’

- Dr Sahar Khamis, professor at University of Maryland

Some have noted that appointing a representative would contradict its decentralised structure, create a figurehead that leaves the movement vulnerable to co-optation, and undermine its collective spirit.

Activists have also stressed that GenZ 212 is not a political entity but a collective voice, and that issues such as healthcare, education and accountability are state responsibilities, not matters for negotiation.

The movement is part of a broader global wave of youth-led mobilisations that inspire and influence one another.

Gen Z activists have recently been at the forefront of anti-corruption and social justice protests in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Peru and Madagascar.

Dr Khamis explains that witnessing other youth movements creates a ripple effect, motivating young people to act.

She cautions, however, against overstating the role of technology through terms such as “Facebook revolution” or “Discord uprising”, calling this a “technologically deterministic” view.

“At the end of the day, it’s always people on the street who can really make change happen and make a difference, not the tools,” she says.