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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 18:1 (2019) ► pp.40–60

Facebook framed

Portraying the role of social media in activism

| School of Communication, Ariel University

The study explores how Facebook was framed during the “tent protest” – the largest social protest in Israel’s history. Findings from of a content analysis of the local Israeli press indicate that Facebook was framed mainly as a political instrument assisting the protest, especially in the stages of recruitment, organization and dissemination of information to protesters. Alongside such positive framing, also evident, albeit less frequently, was negative framing that portrayed Facebook activities as incompatible with genuine political action, and portrayed the “Facebook generation” as lazy and spoiled.

Keywords: social Media, social movements, activism, Internet, Facebook.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Framing the Internet in the mainstream media
    • 1.2Facebook framing during social protests
    • 1.3The local press
  • 2.Method
  • 3.Findings
    • 3.1Theme 1: Facebook’s affordances as a political tool
      • 3.1.1Facebook as a mainstay of the protest
      • 3.1.2Facebook as a recruitment tool
      • 3.1.3Facebook as a logistical tool for organizing the protest
      • 3.1.4Facebook as a means of maintaining contact among protestors
      • 3.1.5Facebook as a discursive sphere
      • 3.1.6Facebook as an influential factor in the protest’s success
      • 3.1.7Facebook as a source of quotes
    • 3.2Theme 2: Facebook’s drawbacks as a political tool
    • 3.3Theme 3: Facebook as a political tool in the Arab Spring (a global perspective)
  • 4.Discussion and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 10 October 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.17058.lev
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