New in Social Media + Society:
How do (non-)disruptive #climate #protests shape social media debates?
We analyzed ~5M Twitter/X posts on #FFF & #LetzteGeneration: Disruptive protests generate more engagement—but also more polarization, driven by right-wing/conservative users: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251337400
How do (non-)disruptive #climate #protests shape social media debates?
We analyzed ~5M Twitter/X posts on #FFF & #LetzteGeneration: Disruptive protests generate more engagement—but also more polarization, driven by right-wing/conservative users: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251337400
Comments
In both debates, antagonists attacked protesters while supporters called for climate action & defended protests.
Both debates were asymmetrically polarized—disruptive protest debates showed greater "Discursive Polarization":
In the Fridays for Future debate, supportive communities were larger and more diverse.
In the Letzte Generation debate, the network was more evenly split between supporters and antagonists.
Antagonists were twice as toxic when addressing supporters than when talking to each other—especially so in debates about disruptive protests.
Huge thanks also to the editors and reviewers of the Special Issue “On Whose Terms? Social Media Platforms as Partners and Battlegrounds for Civil Society Organizing” for their thoughtful feedback throughout the process!