In the early 2010s, social networking was the most powerful democratic tool. It helped coordinate protests such as Occupy Wall Street and supported the Arab spring. As social media platforms became increasingly visible, the optimism of the early 2010s faded. Hotbeds of far-right organising.
While it might seem overblown that platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be used to topple governments, the climate crisis is accelerating, and social media may become a popular tool for activists looking to protect the planet.
Greenpeace and WWF were once the most prominent environmental campaign groups. These organizations rely on donor lists and formal membership to function. Environmental movements have been embracing looser networks of people in recent years, often linked by common phrases, hashtags, or images.
Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future are two examples. Each group does not centrally organize protests or other actions that require the involvement or consensus of the entire group. Each uses social media to invite interested parties to join the movement according to their terms.
This could be as simple as using #FridaysForFuture and participating in a school strikes. Extinction Rebellion participation can be as simple a wearing a badge with the internationally recognised logo or as gluing yourself onto a road or building.
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Environmentalists are now using social media to show how many people are committed to a cause. This allows people the opportunity to take action at multiple locations and times. Many people are encouraged to join by the number similar-minded people they meet online.
Common threads
Do your research Anti-fracking movement in ArgentinaThe country’s activists are still very disconnected from each other. There is little interaction between groups, despite sharing common goals. Although this may seem like weakness, social media has made it a source for strength.
Online platforms allow activists to share ideas such as the right of clean water and the threat from climate change. This allows movements to connect disparate concerns to a root problem, such as fracking. Activists who have different strategies can overcome the need of coordination because shared narratives unify thousands of people around a single goal (in our case, the outlawing of fracking). Online movements can help to spread different stories of environmental and social harm which helps to win more supporters.
Environmental activists rarely fight for isolated issues. Many are fighting against the systems that allow environmental destruction. Activists can get into conflict over priorities and the far-reaching agendas they create.
These conflicts can be minimized if social media is used to show solidarity, identify common ground, and brandish shared words and images that allow likeminded people to recognize each other. These platforms can allow for both local and global movements to grow exponentially, with each having a slightly different agenda. However, they are all under one umbrella that makes each movement or campaign seem larger than it is and more difficult not to ignore.
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