Throughout the protests, Alam maintained an active presence on social media, providing real-time commentary and documentation of events as they unfolded. His posts reached a wide audience during the crisis period when mainstream communication channels were disrupted.
In the early stages of the movement, Alam published analytical articles examining the quota system's constitutional validity. On 11 July 2024, he wrote a detailed critique arguing that the 30% quota for freedom fighters' descendants was unconstitutional and discriminatory, noting that freedom fighters' families constituted only 0.01% of the population while receiving 30% of jobs.
When Prime Minister Hasina referred to quota reform protesters as "razakars" (collaborators) on 14 July, Alam documented the immediate student response and criticized the government's characterization of students, questioning Hasina's moral authority to remain in office after the statement.
As violence escalated from 16 July onward, Alam used his social media platform to document casualties and injuries. He maintained running tallies of deaths across different universities and districts, reporting figures that included students from Dhaka University, Begum Rokeya University, Jahangirnagar University, and numerous colleges. On 18 July, during the "shut down" programme, he reported 39 deaths and approximately 2,700 injuries, with 466 in critical condition.
He documented specific incidents of violence, including attacks on hospitals where injured students were being treated, and called for international attention, specifically appealing to the United Nations and human rights organizations to intervene.
On 18 July 2024, Alam published an open letter addressed to members of the military, police, border guards, and civil service. In the letter, he drew parallels to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, noting that security forces had initially followed orders during Operation Searchlight before eventually joining the independence movement. He urged security personnel to refuse orders to fire on unarmed protesters, emphasizing that the students were their own children and family members. The letter was signed "Shamsul Alam, one of you," referencing his background in government service.
Throughout the crisis, he repeatedly appealed to junior and mid-level security personnel to lay down their weapons. On 20 July, he wrote: "Police members who have fired or are firing on the people—look at your own lives and families and lower your rifle barrels and return to the barracks."
Alam also noted international responses to the crisis, including when the European Union suspended partnership talks with Bangladesh in response to the violence, and when the UN received evidence of excessive force. On 22 July, he criticized the use of UN peacekeeping vehicles in operations against protesters and called for international action against Bangladesh's security forces.
As the movement intensified in early August, Alam tracked reports of divisions within the military, stating on 4 August that junior and middle-level officers were refusing to act against protesters. He documented instances where the military intervened to protect protesters from attacks by Awami League activists in Mirpur and Cumilla.
On 5 August 2024, as Hasina fled the country, Alam posted: "As I said, a fall like Sri Lanka's," referencing the 2022 Sri Lankan protests that had ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He immediately called for the arrest of government ministers and officials to prevent them from fleeing, and announced that an interim government under Muhammad Yunus would be formed.
