This editorial defines big data as an inherently political object and then briefly discusses its on-tological, epistemological, and methodological implications in the social sciences. Furthermore, it address-es these issues in connections with the realm of politics, political participation and political mobilization. Finally, it addresses three main emergent themes related to big data in the broad realm of politics. First, big data as a methodological conundrum - something that can possibly empower or completely bias re-search activities and results. Second, big data as an object of study in its own right, a contested research and political terrain characterized by strong power dynamics between private and public actors and en-twining with governance processes at all levels - from the national to the transnational one. Third, big data as research catalyser that can leverage our understanding of participation and contentious dynamics.

This article aims to achieve a better understanding of how online networks contribute to the organization and the symbolic production of social movements using big data coming from social media platforms. It traces and compares online social and semantic networks that emerged on Twitter during two protest events organized by the feminist Italian movement Non Una Di Meno (NUDM) – a national strike organized on March 8th, 2017 and a march organized on November 25th of the same year. Our results suggests that, over time, online networks created on Twitter remain sparse and centralized around the movement handle but that they continue to host an interactive dialogue between the movement, its activists, and supporters. Also, over time, participants to online conversations around NUDM tend to use Twitter to discuss different aspects of the mobilization – paying more attention to the spaces of the pro-test during the strike and to the issue of gender-based violence in November.

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