The Role Of Facebook In Mobilizing Grassroots Environmental Campaigns

Abstract

This research paper situates itself in a pivotal position, arguing the key role of Facebook in fostering grassroots environmental campaigns across diverse global contexts. Being one of the prominent choices of social media, Facebook offers a unique type of digital infrastructure enabling decentralized activist behavior, quick dissemination of information, and huge public participation. By way of distributed multi-method probes involving case studies, content analysis, and participant interviews, the study seeks to understand how environmental movements such as Fridays for Future, Save Aarey, and Sunrise Movement (USA) have been utilizing Facebook in the coordination of activities, the education of their followers, and the cohesion-building of informal communities. The research findings display that Facebook seems to strengthen grassroots environmental activism through opportunities of real-time communication, wide reach into locations beyond local geographies, and enabling participatory discourse. However, the algorithmic architecture and sway to misinformation pose grave challenges for the platform: among them are limits on content visibility and climate change-related misinformation. The paper ends with some actionable insights for activists, policymakers, and platform developers on how to enhance the positive impact of Facebook while working to mitigate the risks.