Social Media Dynamics in Agro-Food Governance Tim M
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Social Media Dynamics in Agro-Food Governance Governance Agro-Food in Dynamics Media Social Tim M. Stevens M. Tim -m Oo o! Social Media Dynamics in Agro-Food Governance Hypes, Emotions and Master Terms Tim M. Stevens Thesis Committee Promotors Prof. Dr M.N.C. Aarts Personal chair, Strategic Communication Group (COM) Wageningen University & Research Full professor Socio-Ecological Interactions at the Institute for Science in Society (ISiS) Radboud University, Nijmegen Prof. Dr A.R.P.J. Dewulf Personal chair, Public Administration and Policy Group (PAP) Wageningen University & Research Co-promotor Prof. Dr C.J.A.M. Termeer Professor of Public Administration and Policy (PAP) Wageningen University & Research Other members Prof. Dr I.J.M. de Boer Wageningen University & Research Dr M.R.M. Vergeer Radboud University, Nijmegen Dr I.R. Hellsten University of Amsterdam Dr I.A. Korthagen Algemene Rekenkamer, Rotterdam This research was conducted under the auspices of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS) Social Media Dynamics in Agro-Food Governance Hypes, Emotions and Master Terms Tim M. Stevens Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. Dr A.P.J. Mol, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Friday 13 March 2020 at 1:30 p.m. in the Aula Tim M. Stevens Social Media Dynamics in Agro-Food Governance, Hypes, Emotions and Master Terms 234 pages PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (2020) With references, with summaries in English and Dutch ISBN : 978-94-6395-314-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18174/514608 Table of contents Prologue 7 Chapter 1 Introduction 9 Chapter 2 Social Media as a new playing field for 35 the governance of agro-food sustainability Chapter 3 Social Media Hypes about Agro-Food Issues 49 Activism, Scandals and Conflicts Chapter 4 The Emergence and Evolution of Master Terms 79 in the Public Debate about Livestock Farming Semantic Fields, Communication Strategies and Policy Practices Chapter 5 Using Emotions to Frame Issues and Identities in Conflict 103 Farmer Movements on Social Media Chapter 6 General Discussion 135 References 186 Summary 219 Samenvatting 222 Acknowledgements 226 WASS certificate 232 6 Prologue It seems social media are taking over the world. Without social media we would not have witnessed the Arab spring, Brexit and Trump as president. At least, that is the impression you would get from reading the news over the past years. When I started the PhD project in 2013 there was optimism about the potential of social media to empower citizens, diminish hierarchical structures and democratize societies. Over the past few years however this optimism seem to have been replaced by pessimism and concerns about power, polarization and misinformation. The conversations I have had about social media in these past years were often about echo chambers, filter bubbles and fake news. Some tend to think of such characteristics as inherent to social media. As if social media dynamics steer the flows of information similar to the laws of physics that steer the flow of water. In contrast, others argue that social media simply reflects human tendencies; our tendency to connect with people similar to ourselves; our preference for stories that fit our worldview; and our craving for entertaining and emotionally engaging news. From their perspective, social media is just a different stage for the same performance. However, the social media dynamics that I have observed are not intrinsic to social media, nor a reflection of human tendencies. Social media dynamics emerge out of multiple interactions of social actors, online and offline. To understand these dynamics one has to study the use of social media, by social actors, in their social context. 7 1. Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement 1.2 Conceptual Framework 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methodology 1.5 Overview of Studies Chapter 1 10 back to Table of Contents Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement A story about social media dynamics in agro-food governance 1 On November 21st 2013, the animal rights organisation Wakker Dier sends an open letter to the Secretary of State in which she is asked to enforce the law against the calf puller. The calf puller is a tool that helps vets and farmers with the labor of calves, but the use of the tool by farmers is officially prohibited by law. The message of Wakker Dier, in which the calf puller is portrayed as a symbol of industrial farming that harms animals, is shared online and receives massive support on social media. In response, farmers start to post self-made videos in which they effectively use the tool under the slogan ‘the calf puller saves lives’, which generates a second wave of attention. Despite the controversy and intense upheaval, social media activity gradually declines and completely wears off at the end of November. However, on December 2nd the discussion takes a new turn. A 21-years old farmer starts a Facebook page called Anti Wakker Dier. In his first post he states that farmers are ‘fed up with the people behind Wakker Dier [...] who are simply out there to bully farmers’. Within three days the page has over 10.000 followers. Farmers use the page to express their frustrations about Wakker Dier’s misleading negative portrayal of livestock farming. Soon the Facebook pages of Wakker Dier and Anti Wakker Dier become battlefields in the conflict, attacked by their opponents and protected by their moderators. The online conflict is picked up by news media, who bring public attention to the conflict, rather than the policy issue. Some political actors use the momentary public stage to take a stance. The Christian Democrats (CDA) for example, explicitly state to support Anti Wakker Dier in news media. Other political actors remain silent, but are publicly and personally addressed on social media to ask their stance in the conflict. On the same day, political parties submit parliamentary motions, both to enforce the law (PvdD), and to withdraw the law (CDA). The policy issue becomes part of a wider political debate about the legitimacy of agro-food systems in The Netherlands and the influence of (social) media on public perceptions (Nota-overleg dierenwelzijn, 2-12-2013). For example, Helma Lodders of the liberal party (VVD) argues that organizations like Wakker Dier ‘unduly vilify the sector through images in the media’ and ‘strongly determine the public perception of the sector’, and Jaco Geurts of the Christian Democrats (CDA) despises the idea of the Secretary of State to use social media for crisis communication, and portrays a scenario in which ‘everyone in the cities will know about a crisis in the sector, except the farmer working on his land’. In regards to a decision about the legality of the calf puller, the Secretary of State asserts that she finds it important that people do not demonize each other on this matter, that she will talk with various stakeholders, and that the calf puller remains prohibited until further notice. back to Table of Contents 11 Chapter 1 On December 23rd , about a month after the press release of Wakker Dier, the Secretary of State publicly declares that the law on the calf puller will not be enforced, but revised to make it possible to use the calf puller in cases of labor difficulties. In hindsight, the press release of Wakker Dier seem to have had an unexpected effect on the social media discussion and the political decision. This story illustrates how social media have become a space for the public framing of issues and responsibilities in agro-food governance. Moreover, the case suggests that social media may influence public debates and policy-making. Yet this raises more questions than answers: What kind of issues, events and actors receive peak attention on social media? How do online interactions of actors generate emergent dynamics, such as hypes or conflicts? And how do these social media dynamics influence the public debate and policies in agro-food governance? In this section, I will first explain how this story is part of a wider controversy about agro-food governance in the Netherlands; I will then place this case in the context of the network society to indicate the wider societal and scientific relevance, and lastly; I will summarize what is known and unknown based on current academic literature to formulate the research objective of this thesis. Figure 1.1 Number of messages per day on Twitter, Facebook and news media about the calf puller and Anti Wakker Dier The Case of Agro-food Governance in The Netherlands The issue about the calf puller seems a bounded and straightforward policy problem, with a clear responsibility for the Secretary of State and only two possible solutions: enforcing the law, or changing the law. Still, we find that the public debate, both in the media and the political arena, extends far beyond this matter and is part of a wider controversy about the legitimacy and sustainability of agro-food systems in the Netherlands that involves conflicting values and identities. This controversy is driven by a combination of high and diverse stakes in the sector, complex interdependencies in the agro-food system, and a high involvement of farmers, citizens, and consumers on social media. 12 back to Table of Contents Introduction The stakes in the Dutch agro-food sector are high and diverse. Despite the small size and high population density, the Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products 1 with a technologically advanced agro-food system (van der Berg et al., 2016; Wageningen Economic Research, 2017).