Public opposition to protest online: A qualitative content analysis of YouTube comments on UK climate activism videos

Abstract

Public discourse plays a crucial role in shaping the success of social movements. While research has explored public support for collective action, less attention has been paid to active opposition and delegitimization strategies. This study investigates the discursive contestation of climate protests by Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil in the United Kingdom in online spaces, through a qualitative content analysis of YouTube comments (N = 1516) posted under news videos from three data sampling rounds between 2021 and 2023, pertaining to roadblocks as well as art vandalism. We identify eight discursive tactics used to contest protest movements, including (1) Attribution of negative characteristics or traits to protesters; (2) Othering through attributing devalued social categories to protesters; (3) Questioning protesters’ motives and commitment; (4) Reframing the cause as unimportant or the proposed solutions flawed; (5) Critiquing the morality of the protest action; (6) Undermining the efficacy and logic of protest action; (7) Conspiratorial accounts of protesters’ agenda; and (8) Calls for punitive responses to protesters and protest action. We discuss how our discrete categories map onto existing theories of collective action contestation, and highlight the dynamic nature of such discourse, shaped by social context and broader ideological concerns. Our research underscores the significance of online discourse in obstructing social change and calls for further investigation into the real-world behavioral consequences of such narratives on public attitudes toward social movements.