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Rapid Resist is the latest in a growing series of political mass-texting platforms.

Rapid Resist is the latest in a growing series of political mass-texting platforms.

From Rapid Resist's press deck.

From Rapid Resist's press deck.

The app's strategy.

The app's strategy.

From Rapid Resist's press deck.

From Rapid Resist's press deck.

The app functions as way to connect constituents with other constituents in Republican districts.

The app functions as way to connect constituents with other constituents in Republican districts.

Oakland app gives liberals an alternative to canvassing mass text messages

Rapid Resist is the latest in a growing series of political mass-texting platforms. The Oakland-based organization has developed a text-messaging platform for users to reach out to people in targeted Republican districts and invite them to local organizing events in their areas.

Volunteers for Rapid Resist are given a list of people to reach out to who range from registered Democrats to other volunteers already on the app. Rapid Resist also works in tandem with activist groups. At present, Rapid Resist volunteers are in contact with the organizers of West Virginia's women's march to help recruit peaceful protest volunteers (President Trump is visiting later this week).

"I found that when you want to organize someone, it helps if you're doing so as a representative of their community," Rapid Resist founder and former White House Staffer Yoni Landau said. "It helps if you're affiliated with folks who are actually rooted in their community."

Mass-texting as a political tool became popular with both the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaignsand is continuing to be used in current efforts to organize.Resistbot, a messaging service launched in March, helps constituents rapidly compose succinct text messages to members of Congress. 5 calls asks people to allocate a mere five minutes a day to make five calls to local and national elected representatives.

Landau says since the organization's launch six months ago, Rapid Resist has supported 190 different actions and sent 1,456,058 text messages. They've also recruited 28,949 people total across the nation.

Landau said the choice to using a mass-texting platform came not only because of its attention-grabbing quality but also because of its great power to expand participation. The app is designed to include people of all kinds, from already politically active folk to rocket scientists who still want to help out (but may not have the time to call or knock on doors).

"You can text from the hospital. You can text if you're disabled, or elderly, or sick," Landau said. "The movement is about tolerance and inclusivity and it needs to be model that."

The peer-to-peer messages are sent through another Bay Area app called Hustle. Rapid Resist provides step-by-step instructions for using Hustle on its website, and training in various cities. On a day when cell service is a good, a Rapid Resist volunteer can send 300 texts in 10 minutes.

But are they effective?

Some say social media is wiping out the need for door-to-door and phone banking. According to TechCrunch, Hustle's research says 75 percent of millennials prefer texts to calls. In fact, less than five percent of millennials pick up calls from unknown numbers (compared to 10 percent on average for non-millennials).

Others contend that social media, including text messages, can't fully encapsulate the nuance of in-person persuasion (and oftentimes read like spam). Rapid Resist says they are aware of that challenge; while they offer scripts and and suggestions for text messages, volunteers are mostly free to improvise.

Mainly, they hope to use their coastal position to unlock into what Landau calls "untapped potential." He analogized the organization as the "immune-system of the resistance."

"On the coast, we have extra resourcesextra sort of white blood cells," Landau said. "And when there's this really critical moment where a legislator could be persuaded to stop Trump from taking away our health care or taking away our Democratic rights, we facilitate that connection."

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Oakland app gives liberals an alternative to canvassing mass text messages - SFGate