The Fluid and Disruptive Shape of Activism: Strategic Communication in #fridaysforfuture

ABSTRACT

This article analyses some socio-communicative aspects and implications of the hashtagged movement Fridays For Future on Twitter, which has a capacity for mobilization that extends beyond that of any previous non-governmental organization (NGO). It considers how the movement is organised and also the strategic communication dimension of Twitter activists as key agents. We also explore how social-communicative actions shape the public debate to bring about social change. We analysed a sample of tweets containing the hashtags #fridaysforfuture, #climatestrike and #schoolstrike4climate posted over 5 non-consecutive weeks between January-June 2021. Quantitative, network and qualitative analyses revealed descriptive, network and attribute results indicating ongoing intensive discourse and social interactions. The patterns reflect strategic behaviour that reproduces orderly (dis)organisation, as the interaction around hashtags and action-participation are evidence of strategic communication within a fluid and disruptive organisational form.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2023.2204299

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Following the ethical recommendations of the Association of Internet Researchers, users with a prominent community in Twitter (of over 15,000 followers) and with profiles verified by the digital platform are mentioned explicitly. These are considered public profiles.

² Mike Hudema tweet: https://twitter.com/MikeHudema/status/1407001379013545995.