Use of Social Media for Environmental Advocacy: A Study of Recent Movements in India

Environmental communication and advocacy by civil society organizations has become crucial to address climate change and the multitude of ecological crisis the world is facing. This study does a qualitative analysis of the use of social media, especially Facebook, during two recent environmental movements in India, namely – The Rally for Rivers and Cauvery Calling. These interrelated initiatives were launched by Isha Foundation, a Faith-Based Organization in India in 2017 and 2019 respectively, to generate awareness about desertification, river depletion, and associated crisis in the subcontinent; mobilize public opinion; and advocate for policy shifts at the structural level that would facilitate direct on-ground adoption and transition to organic and tree-based agriculture on farmlands along river banks. Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Motivational framing that highlight causes and impact, propose solutions, raise a call-to-action, and aim to build trust and efficacy were observed. Economy-Ecology ‘win-win’ framing was found to be the core of the rhetoric. Facebook was used as a discursive space to challenge and demobilize antagonistic claims or framing about the movements and the organization. Text, pictures, images, diagrams, graphics, and videos were used extensively to inform and engage. Posts were designed to direct traffic towards various websites, blogs, news articles, YouTube videos, X- handles, and other online platforms containing content of significance to the two campaigns.