Stop the Frack! Exploring the Media’s Portrayal of the Social Representation of an Anti-Fracking Protest at the Baltic Sea

ABSTRACT

Public acceptance is crucial for the implementation of new energy technologies related to climate change. Supporters promote fracking as a sustainable, flexible and affordable technological revolution, while opponents point to ecological, financial, and social risks for communities. The communication activities of environmental activists play a significant role in shaping this discourse. Based on Social Representation Theory, the current paper presents the findings of a qualitative case study on the media coverage of an attempt to drill at the Baltic Sea in Germany and an environmental action group’s (EAG) subsequent protest against fracking. The findings, contextualized with personal interviews with members of the group, indicate that the loosely organized but highly networked EAG Erdöl Barth had a significant impact on the social and environmental representation in the media over time through their grassroots communication.

KEYWORDS:

• Fracking
• hydraulic fracturing
• media coverage
• social representation theory
• public protest
• grassroots communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Benjamin Bigl http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0335-8409