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‘Digitality For Future’? – The Potential of Digital Practices for Transformative Education in the Area of Climate Change

Abstract

The Fridays For Future movement brought the issue of climate crisis an enormous boost in public awareness and generated great interest in climate-related topics among students. The particular way in which issues of climate protection or climate adaptation are negotiated by social media communities ensures their appeal. Two questions arise from this: Which digital practices do activists of Fridays For Future use to disseminate knowledge on climate and climate change? How do these practices affect informal learning processes in the knowledge domain of climate and climate change? Results obtained from a qualitative content analysis of posts and documents created by members of digital communities of the Fridays For Future movement and interviews with activists show that processes of identity formation take place in the communities. If these knowledge practices are taken up and reflected upon in the classroom, they can be transferred to formal educational processes, in terms also of transformative learning.

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‘Digitality For Future’? – The Potential of Digital Practices for Transformative Education in the Area of Climate Change

Author: Dorsch, Christian
Year: 2025
DOI: 10.48693/845
Source: https://osnadocs.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de/bitstream/ds-2026021214232/1/Dorsch_GIForum_12_1-15_2025.pdf
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‘Digi ali y Fo Fu u e’? – The
Po en ial o Digi al P ac ices
o T ans o ma i e Educa ion
in he A ea o Clima e
Change
GI_Fo um 2024
Full Pape
Co esponding Au ho :
ch is ian.do sch@uni-osnab ueck.del
DOI: 10.1553/giscience2024_01
Submi ed: 05/01/2024
Accep ed: 10/21/2024
Ch is ian Do sch1
1Osnab ück Uni e si y, Ge many
Abs ac
The F idays Fo Fu u e mo emen b ough he issue o clima e c isis an eno mous boos in
public awa eness and gene a ed g ea in e es in clima e- ela ed opics among s uden s.
The pa icula way in which issues o clima e p o ec ion o clima e adap a ion a e
nego ia ed by social media communi ies ensu es hei appeal. Two ques ions a ise om his:
Which digi al p ac ices do ac i is s o F idays Fo Fu u e use o dissemina e knowledge on
clima e and clima e change? How do hese p ac ices a ec in o mal lea ning p ocesses in
he knowledge domain o clima e and clima e change? Resul s ob ained om a quali a i e
con en analysis o pos s and documen s c ea ed by membe s o digi al communi ies o he
F idays Fo Fu u e mo emen and in e iews wi h ac i is s show ha p ocesses o iden i y
o ma ion ake place in he communi ies. I hese knowledge p ac ices a e aken up and
e lec ed upon in he class oom, hey can be ans e ed o o mal educa ional p ocesses,
in e ms also o ans o ma i e lea ning.
Keywo ds:
digi al condi ion, social media, educa ion o sus ainable de elopmen , ans o ma i e
lea ning
1 In oduc ion
The mo emen F idays Fo Fu u e (FFF) mobilizes a huge p opo ion o i s ollowe s by
ac i i ies on social media, h ough bo h campaigning and sha ing clima e knowledge. Fo
knowledge-sha ing, ac i is s e alua e scien i ic sou ces and e-p esen he in o ma ion o
social media pla o ms. They hen use he pla o ms' mechanisms o dis ibu ion. The
con ibu ion o social media ac i i ies by FFF and o he g oups o clima e and sus ainabili y
educa ion is subs an ial. In a su ey o 129 geog aphy s uden eache s a Goe he Uni e si y
F ank u in 2022, 74% o he esponden s s a ed ha hey o en o e y o en ob ain
in o ma ion abou clima e change om social media. The answe “uni e si y” as he sou ce o
in o ma ion came only in hi d place, wi h 31%. 6.4% o he esponden s had al eady p oduced
hei own con en on social media abou clima e and clima e change; 32% had sha ed pos s.
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These indings pose a g ea challenge o schools and uni e si ies, because lea ne s, as use s
o social media, mus be augh he necessa y li e acies o be able o ecognize misin o ma ion
as such.
Knowledge is p oduced and sha ed on social media in wo dimensions: ha o he c ea o s
and ac i e dissemina o s o con en , and ha o he consume s.
1
This pape will ocus on he
i s le el, namely how clima e knowledge is dissemina ed h ough social media, and how
lea ne s can imp o e hei compe ences when hey p oduce pos s abou clima e and clima e
change on social media. This will be illus a ed by he example o he g oup FFF, which
egula ly se es as a sou ce o in o ma ion abou clima e and clima e change o almos 31%
o he s uden s su eyed.
The p ac ices o FFF include selec ing, e lec ing on, and sha ing knowledge. These ac i i ies
a e in e dependen wi h he dimensions e e en iali y, communali y and algo i hmici y in
S alde ’s concep o he “digi al condi ion” (2018) (see sec ion 2 below).
This leads o he wo ques ions ha his pape explo es: Wha digi al p ac ices do FFF ac i is s
use o dissemina e knowledge on clima e and clima e change? The second ques ion depends
on he i s : Do he p ac ices iden i ied ini ia e in o mal lea ning p ocesses in he ield o
clima e and clima e change when ac i is s make use o hem? I explo e hese ques ions by
analysing social media pos s and o he documen s p oduced by FFF ac i is s. I deepen he
insigh s gained wi h he help o ou in e iews wi h s uden s who desc ibe hemsel es as
clima e ac i is s. Fi s , he heo e ical e e ences o he 'digi al condi ion', and i s in luence on
bo h clima e ac i ism and ans o ma i e educa ion ha o ms he basis o he esea ch, a e
es ablished below.
2 The digi al condi ion
As Jö issen and Ma o zki poin ed ou as long ago as 2009, he wo ld in which s uden s li e
oday is cha ac e ized by a comp ehensi e ‘mediali y’. The de elopmen o he In e ne o
Things, ubiqui ous digi al de ices such as sma phones, able s, and wea ables, and he use o
algo i hms o acili a e e e yday li e ha e led o media de e mining he s uc u es o
wo ld iews. Consequen ly, we do no beha e owa ds media, bu in media. In he p ocess, he
ela ionship be ween one’s sel and he wo ld (“sel –wo ld ela ions”; Jö issen & Ma o zki,
2009) change, and mediali y becomes he basis o all educa ional p ocesses (Jö issen, 2013).
The all-encompassing media iza ion desc ibed by Jö issen and Ma o zki is also hema ized by
Felix S alde (2017), a media scien is . In his ou line o he digi al condi ion, he delibe a ely
does no speak o he p ocess o digi iza ion, since he conside s digi iza ion o be so a
ad anced ha ou e e yday wo ld is al eady pe mea ed by digi ali y. E en i we do no in e ac
wi h digi al echnologies in some a eas o li e, hey a e a cons i u i e elemen o cul u al
p ac ices and p ocesses o subjec i a ion.
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By iewing and ‘liking’ pos s, a consume also con ibu es o dissemina ion h ough he
pla o m's algo i hms.
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The e a e a ious de ini ions, made by media scien is s, o digi al o “media” p ac ices ha
ake place in he digi al wo ld. Ma oni and T e é (2014), o example, desc ibe hem as
“ ou inized and c ea i e social p ac ices in which ac i is s engage and which include, i s ,
in e ac ions wi h media objec s […], h ough which ac i is s can gene a e and/o app op ia e
media messages and, second, in e ac ions wi h media subjec s […] who a e connec ed o he
media ealm” (p. 259). S alde (2018) chooses a sligh ly di e en app oach and labels he
p ac ices “ e e en iali y”, “communali y” and “algo i hmici y”. Cul u al ac o s, such as a is s
o musicians, ha e always e e ed o each o he ’s wo ks in hei own wo ks, alo ized hem
and changed hem ( e e en iali y). The all-encompassing a ailabili y o cul u al ma e ial and
digi al access o i now make i possible o e e yone o gene a e new meanings on compu e s
o sma phones by selec ing and ea anging exis ing ma e ial. Wi hin a pa icula communi y,
o example he Wikipedia communi y, he esou ces and op ions o ac ion a e a ailable o
he cul u al p oduce s, and only h ough hese esou ces can he meanings c ea ed become
pe manen (communali y). A he same ime, dynamics o ne wo k powe ha con igu e
olun a iness and coe cion, au onomy and he e onomy in a new way a e a wo k in he
communi y (S alde , 2018, p. 13). Au oma ed decision-making p ocesses in he o m o
algo i hms educe he low o in o ma ion and selec wha is made isible o human
pe cep ion. Algo i hms ul ima ely decide wha becomes he basis o human ac ion, hus also
wha is aken up and ep oduced a is ically (algo i hmici y). These h ee cu en ly dominan
p ac ices ha cons i u e cul u e, as desc ibed by S alde , a e also pa icula ly ele an o he
s udy o educa ional p ocesses in he digi alized p esen . They ma k he end o he “Gu enbe g
Galaxy” as S alde calls i in e e ence o McLuhan (1995), in which he p in ed wo d was he
leading medium.
The dimensions o he “digi al condi ion” ou lined abo e a e pa icula ly sui able o cap u ing
he p ac ices used by FFF ac i is s in social media and analysing hem in e ms o hei
educa ional po en ial. They also se e as he basis o he ca ego y sys em wi h which he da a
collec ed o his s udy we e analysed.
3 Clima e ac i ism in he digi al condi ion
Since 2019, he numbe o esea ch pape s on clima e ac i ism on social media and FFF in
pa icula has inc eased signi ican ly (Ba an & S ol enbe g, 2023, p. 465). I is no only because
o he es ic ions on people’s mo emen s b ough abou by he COVID-19 pandemic ha
he FFF clima e mo emen elies on social media ne wo ks o ec ui pa icipan s in
demons a ions; o he o ms o “ o ced digi alisa ion” (So ce & Dumi ica, 2023) ha e also
esul ed in a signi ican inc ease in hei ec ui men online. So ce and Dumi ica iden i y ou
clus e s o ac ion ac ics used by FFF ac i is s du ing he pandemic, when in-pe son ac ion
was la gely p ohibi ed: con en ious digi al ac ions (e.g. digi al s ikes o online campaigns);
digi al pa ne ship de elopmen ; online communi y engagemen ; online in o ma ion and
educa ion (e.g. webina s on clima e opics, li e e en s and online news) (So ce & Dumi ica,
2023, pp. 576–78).
The ac i is s use scien i ic knowledge abou clima e change “as ele an o hei engagemen
wi hin he mo emen in gene al” and “ a o a gumen s ha a e based on scien i ic knowledge”
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(Soßdo & Bu gi, 2022, p. 10). Acco ding o hese au ho s, he mo emen 's success can be
explained in pa by he use o his scien i ic knowledge, as i legi imizes hei cause. The
au ho s di e en ia e be ween s a egic and spon aneous use o scien i ic knowledge. The
o me migh be ci ing scien i ic indings in a social media pos in o de o d aw a en ion o
he u gency o one's own conce n. “Spon aneous” uses would include, o example, ac i is s
aking pa in online discussions and p o iding a gumen s in a ou o hei posi ion. FFF
ac i is s can he e o e be desc ibed as “al e na i e science communica o s” (Faehn ich e al.,
2020; Maeseele, 2009).
As well as he con en s o he pos s, jus how ac i is s use he mechanisms o social pla o ms
was analysed. So ce (2023) ocuses on he way in which FFF uses algo i hms o pu sue i s own
goals. Th ough in e iews wi h FFF ac i is s, she iden i ies he ollowing ways o dealing wi h
algo i hmici y, which she di ides in o ou main ca ego ies:
 Algo i hmic Consciousness: unde s anding, unc ions, issues, pi alls and
misin e p e a ions
 Algo i hm as S ake: con en ious impo ance, ac ical poli ics
 Algo i hm as Repe oi e: ole in ac i ism, algo i hmic campaigning
 Da a Con en ion: da a analysis, con en ious digi al ac ics, unc i ical uses. (p. 223)
Ano he way o gene a e a en ion o clima e issues, especially among people who a e no
e y poli ically in ol ed, is h ough memes – i.e. digi al uni s, based on imi a ion and
adap a ion, ha a e c ea ed and sha ed ia social media (Shi man, 2013). They a e an example
o S alde 's dimension o e e en iali y. In hei s udy, Johann e al. (2023) s a e ha memes
“lowe he h eshold o pa icipa ion by highligh ing he ele ance o socio‐poli ical issues
and os e ing ac i e use in ol emen ” (p. 234). They he e o e ha e “agenda-se ing
po en ial” (p. 234) in online discou ses.
The esea ch p esen ed he e demons a es a a ie y o o ms o ac i ism and ac ics used by
FFF ac i is s in social media. The ques ion emains as o wha ex en educa ional p ocesses
a e ini ia ed among he c ea o s o he pos s.
4 T ans o ma i e educa ion
In o de o be able o de ine hese educa ional p ocesses in mo e de ail, he concep o
“ ans o ma i e educa ion” is help ul. C i icism o an ins umen al Educa ion o Sus ainable
De elopmen (ESD 1) has led o an emphasis on he impo ance o a mo e e lexi e and
emancipa o y o m o ESD (ESD 2) (G yl & Budke, 2016; Va e & Sco , 2007). This highligh s
he need o ques ion one's own posi ions and a i udes and o unco e he con adic ions and
unce ain ies ha can hinde o p e en sus ainable ac ion. T ans o ma i e lea ning also aims
o ecognize global in e dependencies and implici powe ela ions in he sus ainabili y
discou se, o e lec on one's own posi ions, and hus o enable he o ma ion o one's own
opinions and a i udes (S e ling, 2011). The aim is hus a quali a i e change in sel -image,
wo ld iew and opinion o ma ion, which also includes, o example, ques ioning es ablished
economic o ms (such as he neolibe al g een g ow h na a i e) and conside ing al e na i e
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o ms o economic ac i i y (such as pos -g ow h app oaches, o he economy o he common
good), bu wi hou in oducing hese om a monope spec i e.
A cen al aspec o he ans o ma i e lea ning p ocess is he abili y o analyse he social
discou se on sus ainabili y. This equi es he iden i ica ion o ac o s, social na a i es and
p ac ices, as well as e lec ion on one's own posi ioning. The powe and in e p e a ion
s uc u es unco e ed should be made nego iable in a e lexi e p ocess and, in p inciple,
accessible o ans o ma ion (Pe ig, 2021).
In o de o implemen ans o ma i e lea ning in he class oom, Pe ig p oposes a iad o
posi ioning, e lec ing and expe imen ing. The i s s ep in ol es a icula ing and ac ualizing
one's own pe spec i es on a wo hwhile p oblem case. Lea ne s exp ess hei posi ions in an
unbiased manne and ela e hem o each o he .
In he second s ep, he lea ne s' p econcep ions should be challenged by al e na i e poin s o
iew. An example o his could be he inclusion in he discussion o al e na i e economic
o ms, such as deg ow h. This con on a ion may p omp lea ne s o ques ion hei own
posi ion and e lec on whe e hei con ic ions come om. The aim is also o ocus on
posi ions in he sus ainabili y discou se ha a e ma ginalized and coun e -hegemonic.
By amilia izing hemsel es wi h al e na i e pe spec i es, lea ne s can e-e alua e a p oblem
and discuss he ele ance o he pe spec i e o hei own li es. O he s anda ds can hen be
used, o example o he ques ion o wha cons i u es a good li e. Finally, he a ious
al e na i es should also be ac i ely ied ou , i possible, in o de o expand lea ne s’ own
a icula ion op ions (Pe ig, 2021, pp. 12–13). In p ac ical e ms, his migh mean ying ou
he concep o “deg ow h” in he school’s ai - ade shop.
5 Me hods
The explo a o y basis o answe ing he esea ch ques ions was he analysis o documen s and
pos s c ea ed by suppo e s o FFF in social ne wo ks and on o he in e ne pla o ms. This
analysis gene a ed ini ial indica ions ega ding he use o digi al p ac ices wi hin he
communi y. The insigh s gained we e hen deepened wi h he help o in e iews.
To ec ui in e iew pa ne s, a digi al su ey was i s conduc ed among 129 s uden s in he
geog aphy eaching deg ee p og ammes a Goe he Uni e si y F ank u . The su ey ocused
on he opic o in o mal lea ning, wi hin social media, in he knowledge a ea o clima e and
clima e change. The c i e ion o selec ion as in e iew pa ne s was ha he esponden s had
al eady c ea ed o a leas dissemina ed pos s on social media in his pa icula knowledge a ea.
Fou s uden s we e iden i ied as in e iewees. The in e iews, which las ed abou 30 minu es,
comp ised ques ions ha we e la gely de i ed om he heo e ical explana ions o he
dimensions o S alde ’s “digi al condi ion” and deal p ima ily wi h he s uden s' digi al
p ac ices, hei ole wi hin he FFF communi y, and hei own lea ning in ela ion o he opics
o clima e and clima e change.
The ansc ibed in e iews we e analysed using quali a i e con en analysis (Kucka z, 2016).
The ca ego y amewo k was i s de i ed deduc i ely om he heo e ical explana ions o he

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“digi al condi ion”, hen supplemen ed induc i ely by means o he in o ma ion om he
in e iews. The ollowing ca ego ies we e iden i ied:
 RQ1-1: Re e en iali y
 RQ1-2: Communali y
 RQ1-3: Algo i hmici y
 RQ1-4: own in o mal lea ning
 RQ1-5: own o mal lea ning
 RQ1-6: Knowledge dissemina ion
 RQ1-7: Own ac ion compe ence
 RQ1-8: P o ide ac ion compe ence/mo i a ion
The esul s o he analysis and in e iews a e summa ized below and discussed in e ms o
hei po en ial o ( ans o ma i e) educa ion.
6 P ac ices o digi ali y and in o mal lea ning in he
F idays Fo
Fu u e
communi y
FFF ac i is s wan o each bo h he membe s o hei communi y and ou side s, o which
hey use a ious s a egies
6.1 P ac ices o digi ali y and in o mal lea ning in he
F idays Fo Fu u e
communi y
The dis ibu ion o clima e knowledge wi hin he communi y se es o p o ide membe s wi h
he necessa y knowledge o a gue o he goals o FFF in social media. The con en sha ed can
also be used o c ea e social media pos s. Pos s a e p epa ed wi h images and concise language
ha will appeal o as many use s as possible, while con o ming o social media pla o ms'
algo i hms. These p ac ices can be unde s ood as a o m o “online communi y engagemen ”
(So ce & Dumi ica, 2023, p. 574).
The mos impo an pla o m o knowledge sha ing is Disco d, on which FFF hos s se e al
se e s. Anyone can become a membe he e, as long as he app op ia e ne ique e is complied
wi h. Fo example, disc imina o y language o e e ence o adical igh -wing con en will be
penalized by expulsion om he se e s. Scien i ic ac s and igu es equi e e e ences (e.g.
a icles in pee - e iewed scien i ic jou nal a icles, o Wikipedia a icles). Fac s and igu es on
poli ical opics, howe e , a e no allowed, “as a icles on poli ical opics a e o en e y one-
sided” (au ho ’s ansla ion). A iola ion o hese ules leads o a wa ning and, in cases o
epea ed o ences, o emo al om he pla o m. Adminis a o s and mode a o s a e
esponsible o ensu ing compliance wi h he ules.
Figu e 1 shows a o um (“in o e eilung: channel o dis ibu ing FFF- ela ed ac ions/p ojec s
and o sha ing sou ces/a gumen a ion aids”; au ho ’s ansla ion) on Disco d in which use s
sha e, o example, media con ibu ions abou clima e opics. These con ibu ions should bo h
add o he communi y’s knowledge base ega ding clima e opics and be u he sha ed ia
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social media. The communi y, which also exis s in a simila o m on he Wha sApp pla o m,
hus o e s ac i is s he esou ces hey need o mobilize o clima e p o ec ion ou side he
communi y. A he same ime, i is egula ed in he sense o S alde ’s dimension o
communali y, in ha use s mus accep ce ain ules.
Figu e 1: . Se e “in o e eilung” by FFF on Disco d. Sc eensho by au ho , Feb ua y 2023
Possible lea ning p ocesses
Pa icipa ion in he collabo a i e p ac ices o he online FFF communi y se es as aining in,
and he e o e p omo ion o , compe ences ha a e also ele an o clima e educa ion in
schools. The acquisi ion o subjec -speci ic knowledge, o example in he ield o clima ology,
clima e impac esea ch and clima e adap a ion, is needed o unde s and he co e o (scien i ic)
a icles and summa ize hem i necessa y, be o e making his knowledge a ailable o he
communi y.
In he in e iew, s uden G alked abou how she had esea ched clima e issues in dep h in
o de o w i e an a icle:
“So, I no ice when I c ea e a pos , okay. I knew a li le bi abou i in gene al, bu when I look a he IPCC
epo , o example, he in o ma ion becomes mo e in-dep h. I suddenly ha e conc e e igu es a my inge ips
and ha e many mo e examples. So I would de ini ely say ha i is he case ha you go deepe in o he subjec .”
(In e iewee G, 27 yea s; au ho ’s ansla ion)
This is whe e e alua ion abili ies come in o play: pa icipan s need o assess a icles o hei
scien i ic quali y, o example, in o de ul ima ely o comply wi h Disco d’s ne ique e. I is
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clea how impo an he s a egic and spon aneous use o eliable scien i ic knowledge is o
he ac i is s, because hey use i o legi imize hei goals and ac ions (Soßdo & Bu gi, 2022).
Equally – o a guably mo e impo an ly – ac i is s should also be able o assess he i al
po en ial o an a icle, bu also ha o memes and images, so ha he in o ma ion is
dissemina ed as widely as possible by use s and he algo i hms. Use s should be able, as shown
by So ce (2023), o see algo i hms as pa o a “ epe oi e in ac i ism” wi h he po en ial o
sp ead hei messages.
In discussions wi hin he communi y, o example on sui able clima e p o ec ion measu es,
subjec -speci ic knowledge, suppo ed by communica ion compe ence, helps he membe s o
he communi y o asse hemsel es con incingly. In addi ion o hese echnical and social
compe ences, which acco ding o Alle and Rich e (2017) also include he abili y o wo k in
a eam o he o ganiza ion o he communi y, pe sonal compe ences a e also equi ed and
p omo ed. These include, abo e all, sel - o ma ion. I one unde s ands lea ning as a dynamic
p ocess o pa icipa ion in open, non-closable, social con ex s and p ac ices (Hö ning, 2017,
p. 76), hen a u he componen is added. This is no so much an abili y as a cha ac e is ic o
iden i y: ou sel is cons i u ed h ough socio-ma e ial p ac ices, which also ake place in a
pa icula o m in he FFF communi y. This can lead o iden i ica ion wi h he communi y, so
ha i becomes pa o one's own iden i y. In his con ex , Hö ning (2001) speaks o he
app op ia ion o li es yles, which eme ge wi h g ea e p ominence he mo e complex and one-
se ing he communi y p ac ices become (Hö ning 2001, ep oduced in Alle & Rich e , 2017).
S uden G con i ms his in ha he clima e mo emen has become “an impo an pa o [he ]”
h ough he p ac ices inside and ou side social ne wo ks. Also in ela ion o Pe ig’s (2021)
h ee dimensions o ans o ma i e lea ning, posi ioning, as pa o he sel - o ming p ocess,
is pa icula ly impo an . The c ea o s o he pos s upda e and exp ess hei own pe spec i es
on ques ions o clima e change by including he communi ies’ pe spec i es.
6.2 Dissemina ion o clima e knowledge ou side he communi y
Th ough ac i i ies on he social ne wo ks Ins ag am, X, Facebook, YouTube, Snapcha and TikTok,
FFF ac i is s – in addi ion o mobilizing hei own suppo e s – y abo e all o each use s o
hese ne wo ks who a e ou side he communi y, o example o win hem o e o pa icipa ing
in demons a ions, o o mo i a e hem o change hei (unsus ainable) way o li e.
In o de o gene a e as g ea a each as possible and o be a ou ed by he pla o m’s
algo i hms, pos s a e designed using images and ideos, a e in e ac i e, and use ce ain
hash ags “ o p ac ically gene a e a wide each wi h he algo i hm o also o simply be ound mo e quickly in
sea ches” (In e iewee G, 27 yea s, au ho ’s ansla ion).
Do sch
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Figu e 2: FFF pos abou Tu alu on Ins ag am. Sc eensho by au ho , July 2024
Hash ags a e used by ac i is s o dissemina e in o ma ion abou local ini ia i es. Figu e 2
shows he example # u alu. He e, he hash ag c ea es a spa ial e e ence o he Paci ic island
and d aws a en ion o he exis en ial h ea posed by clima e change. Spa ial e e ences a e
epea edly made in pos s. Recen examples include he 2024 lood disas e s in Kenya and
B azil, as well as pos s abou Is ael's a acks in Gaza. FFF also exploi s he each o ce ain
hash ags. Fo example, #Niemeh CDU wen i al in he deba e a ound A icle 13 o he
copy igh law in Ge many and immedia ely ound g ea esonance on pla o ms such as
Facebook and X. The Ch is ian Democ a ic Pa y (CDU) played a key ole in pushing o wa d
he Coyp igh law, which was ejec ed by la ge pa s o he In e ne communi y. In he eyes o
FFF ac i is s, he CDU also egula ly blocked clima e p o ec ion measu es. By using he
hash ag, which membe s ha e done e y equen ly o e he las wo yea s, FFF a e e ec i ely
hijacking he discou se a ound e o m and using i s ex ensi e each o sp ead hei own
in e es s.
The ac i is s a e hus playing he “ isibili y game” (Co e , 2019), which is cha ac e ized by he
ac ha algo i hms “s uc u e, bu do no unila e ally de e mine use beha iou ” (p. 895).
Despi e he powe o algo i hms wi hin social media pla o ms, Co e concludes ha
in luence s a e awa e o he ules o algo i hms, and o how o use hem o hei own in e es s
wi hou iola ing hem (p. 908).
Tac ics include making pos s pa icula ly eye-ca ching, o example, o using p o oca i e
headlines o encou age engagemen wi h a con ibu ion. Howe e , he s uden s in e iewed
a e conce ned o mee academic s anda ds in hei ex e nal communica ions as well:
“Bu o he wise I'm also always a bi unce ain and p e e o look again somewhe e else, o e e o some hing
ha I'm su e o be o e I sp ead any alse epo s...” (In e iewee S, 22 yea s, au ho ’s ansla ion)