Framing for mobilization: Content analysis of the Farmers protest’s social media commentary
Abstract: This study examines collective action frames visible in the social media commentary of the ongoing Farmers’ protest in India. It addresses the theoretical and critical questions about social media’s role in the 21st century social movements as well as how framing contributes to mobilization and overcoming the collective action problem. Previous studies have advocated both for and against using social media as a tool to encourage collective action as well as underscored the importance of framing in mobilization. In this thesis, these theoretical arguments are combined and social media’s applicability for discussing collective action frames is analysed. The content analysis of 1400 comments on the Kisan Ekta Morcha’s Facebook page indicates that social media sites can offer opportunities for the general public to engage themselves in the mobilization task of social movements through framing of societal issues. These findings are especially promising for contexts where the mainstream media and/or government is known to advocate against dissident ideas.
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