“Activism in paradise”: A critical discourse analysis of a public
Tracking number
relations campaign against genetic engineering.
ICA-15-10063
12
Roper (ibid.) demonstrates how the Internet has been used as a tool for activism. Websites are
used to organize - networking, strategy co-ordination, and training - allowing the generation
of mass responses to events and policies. Websites are also used to inform - citizens are
empowered to contest public policy to ensure it stays in line with the public good. This may
include shared research results, training on how to conduct research, how to organize
campaigns, how to use the Internet and other media, and legal assistance. Roper (ibid.) also
suggests that Internet sites are used to reposition the discourse, through brand-based activism
(counter advertising that exposes advertising techniques) and providing counter information
from academics. Such websites then position Internet publics as citizens rather than
consumers, and can provide a direct way of communicating news to publics that bypasses
media filters.
The emergence of the GE Free coalition as an activist group may represent a struggle to
ensure that individuals are legitimately able to articulate alternative discourses on genetic
engineering in a newly deliberative public sphere. The coalition uses websites as one means
to achieve this, in an attempt to dominate the hegemonic struggle surrounding genetic
engineering.
Methodology
Over the three-month period of the campaign, I analyzed the GE Free coalition website and
associated member websites, together with related press releases, to establish the main themes
used by the coalition in their communication about genetic engineering issues and to explore
the discursive practices evident. Media reports on television, and in daily newspapers and
magazines demonstrated the visibility and impact of the campaign. I also conducted a semi-
Convention