When: September 20, 2022, at 12pm
Where: Online or In person
Speaker: Dr. Hamish van der Ven, Wood Science
Abstract
In recent years, environmental activism has moved from the ‘streets’ to the ‘tweets.’ Companies face increasing pressure to address the environmental concerns of social media users. But to what extent does so-called ‘clicktivism’ lead to meaningful changes in corporate environmental practices?
In this presentation, Dr. Hamish van der Ven examines a recent case of clicktivism targeted at the Canadian dairy industry. #Buttergate led to widespread concern about deforestation due to the use of palm oil derivatives in dairy cattle feed. By analyzing historical Twitter data and conducting qualitative interviews, Dr. van der Ven examines what #buttergate can teach us about the impacts of clicktivism more generally.
