Protests in Hong Kong: dating sites and augmented reality games

Hong Kong has been hit by a wave of protests. Government control over the Internet and messengers has inspired the opposition to come up with creative and unexpected cooperation methods.

Protests are continuing in Hong Kong. The municipal police force has started using indelible paint to mark members of the opposition in the crowd. The protesters retaliated with lasers used to deactivate cameras. These actions have severely limited government’s ability to identify protesters. 

The time has come to transition to a new communications system. The Chinese Internet is controlled by the government, which has forced the opposition to use unusual methods to coordinate their actions. Many protesters have been discussing their next actions in the popular dating app Tinder.

During the information blockade, the protesters have started sharing information through AirDrop on their iPhones, which has allowed them to fly under the radar of the police. The situation has been blown up to almost comical proportions: at one point, the protesters claimed that the purpose of their meeting was to play Pokemon Go - a popular augmented reality game.

Both sides of the conflict have started turning to unorthodox methods of fighting their opponent, which has turned the city into a setting for an interesting strategic battle.