FRÅN FEED TILL FÖRÄNDRING. En multimodal analys om Fridays For Future och Greenpeace kommunikation på instagram

Abstract

Executive summary Research shows that current lifestyles are unsustainable and lead to climate change with severe consequences. The media often portrays climate issues with catastrophic scenarios which can lead to public disengagement. Environmental organizations play a vital role in filling the gap left by traditional media by keeping climate issues in focus and engaging the public. Social media enables these organizations to communicate directly with the public, offering greater control over their message and the opportunity to reach a diverse audience. Previous research indicates a need for more studies on how climate organizations use social media, especially Instagram, given its visual nature and capacity to engage younger audiences. The purpose of this study is therefore to analyze how environmental organizations communicate on Instagram. The chosen organizations are Greenpeace and Fridays for Future. The chosen method and theory for this study is multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA). This is due to its ability to find hidden meanings through analysing how semiotic resources interact to create purpose. Berglez (2019) key concepts of the methodology is used to analyse the chosen material from a three month period, 1st of march to 9th of june, before the European Union election in 2024. The chosen posts from the time period had to follow certain criterias. The post must be an image – videos and animated elements are excluded. The posts’ text must be in Swedish or English. The posts must address climate-related topics. Images that exclusively focused solely on animals, war, or human rights were not included. A total of 25 images from Greenpeace and 24 from Fridays for Future were identified after applying the criterias. To avoid redundancy, 13 images from Greenpeace and 10 from Fridays for Future were selected for in-depth analysis. Furthermore, the study's theoretical framework incorporates semiotics, which examines how meaning is created through signs, symbols, and their relationships. Both denotation– the literal meaning– and connotation, the emotional and cultural associations, are considered in this framework to deepen the understanding of how visual elements and text work together to convey messages. To address the study’s aim, the following research questions were designed. The first question asked how communicational themes and narratives appear on Greenpeace Sweden and Fridays for Future Sweden’s Instagram. The second question asked how the communication strategies of Greenpeace Sweden and Fridays for Future Sweden instagram are similar or different. The analysis resulted in three main themes: informative, mobilization and documenting. Both organizations use these themes, but with different approaches. Greenpeace Sweden’s instagram has a tendency to use an encouraging and emotionally varied tone, balancing seriousness with hope and frequently incorporating humor to the instagram posts. They also tend to highlight progress in their posts and use dramatic visuals. Fridays for Future Sweden frequently use photographs of demonstrations, regardless of the theme. They often use a critical stance toward authorities and power structures, emphasizing an indignant tone that highlights a sense of urgency. Incorporating satire in their posts allows the organizations to make climate issues more accessible without downplaying their seriousness, helping to reduce disengagement and increase public involvement. However, Fridays for Future's confrontational tone, may provoke avoidance in some audiences, yet drives action by holding political and corporate leaders accountable. This strategy reflects societal power dynamics, where these organizations challenge decision-makers despite lacking formal power. Additionally, using Instagram as a platform requires adapting their communication to its norms, which may explain the inclusion of entertainment, ultimately helping to engage a broader audience. The differences of the result may be a reflection of the organizational structures. Greenpeace, with decades of experience and resources, uses a sophisticated approach, while Fridays for Future’s activism focuses on direct actions. Both organizations' methods play complementary roles in moving the environmental movement forward by using different approaches to engage different audiences. Further research on the effects of the communicative themes would be valuable to understand which climate messages effectively reach and engage the audience.