Tweeting Climate Strike: A Netnographic Study of Fridays for Future’s Narratives in the USA and Bangladesh

Abstract

Nowadays, Twitter (now X) has been a key battleground for environmental activism. This study reveals patterns of the narratives the climate strike movement Fridays for the Future (FFF) shares on the microblogging platform. The article categorically investigates on which points the platform publicizes varying concerns and disseminates differing priorities in the USA and Bangladesh, situated in the so-called Global North and South, respectively, while fighting against catalysts of climate change. The Twitter handles of the youth-led movement, namely Fridays for Future U.S. and Fridays for Future Bangladesh, are utilizing this social media platform to convey their agendas across the globe in a bid to influence public views. This paper illustrates the concerns and priorities these Twitter communities share in the two countries to mobilize their agendas and assemble their supporters. The study has found that the social media movement platforms share concerns mostly about causes and consequences of climate change, power corruption, and system rigging by the ‘dirty companies’, climate, and social justice for those who mainly suffer during climatic disasters. The platforms also discuss possible resolutions to contain the increasing number of climatic incidents and, subsequently, their impact and action plans. The netnographic method, which involves an inductive approach, was applied to analyze the tweeting data.