How did activists adapt to the COVID-19 measures? A new collaborative research project by Dr. Giuliana Sorce (Institute for Media Studies, Tübingen University) and Dr. Delia Dumitrica, Associate Professor in the Media & Communication department (ESHCC, EUR) addresses this question by examining the online actions of the student environmental movement Fridays for Future (FFF). With a focus on FFF national groups across the European Union, the study systematizes four types of digital actions on Facebook: contentious tactics; information and education offerings; community engagement work; and, partnership development.
Known for their weekly strikes marked by the symbolical power of protesters on the streets, FFF had to adapt almost overnight to the social distancing measures and meeting restrictions prompted by the Corona crisis. This also meant that the iconic weekly strike turned digital. This was often implemented following a simple formula: asking supporters to make a protest sign, take a picture of themselves holding it, then share it on social media using international hashtags such as #climatestrikeonline or #digitalstrike.
Overall, this adaptation to the digital environment led to an increase in community-building at the expense of contentious work. This can be problematic long-term, as the movement was best known for its ability to challenge political structures on a transnational level. Yet, contention seemed to receed to the background during the early stages of the Corona crisis, when FFF national groups seemed more involved in providing emotional support and informational material to their followers, inviting them to webinars and online conferences, as well as re-posting content produced by other organizations or the mass media. Surprisingly, few FFF national groups engaged in transnational networking among themselves. Furthermore, with some notable exceptions, they did not seem to look outside the box to develop and try out forms of contentious work that could blur the online/offline boundary.
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