I am presenting research at the 9th Annual International Conference on Social Media and Society (#SMSociety) in Copenhagen, Denmark (July 18-20, 2018). Jill Hopke (DePaul University, United States) Molly Simis-Wilkinson (Independent Scholar, United States) Patricia Loew (Northwestern University, United States) Social Media in Agenda-setting: The Elsipogtog First Nation and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe ABSTRACT. The Dakota Access Pipeline did not gain widespread attention until it was nearly complete, despite extensive opposition from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. It was not until images depicting repression circulated on social media that mainstream media and public attention spiked. We use shale gas exploration in New Brunswick, Canada and the Dakota Access Pipeline, as case studies of social media agenda-setting. We consider disruptive public participation to involve constituents who perceive themselves as outsiders to decision-making. In both cases protest was ongoing for significant periods before receiving mainstream media and public attention. Using mixed methods, we show that law enforcement and company crackdown on indigenous communities, and the circulation of dramatic visuals via Twitter, is associated with spikes in social media, as well as media and public attention.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA IN AGENDA-
SETTING: THE ELSIPOGTOG FIRST
NATION AND STANDING ROCK
SIOUX TRIBE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIETY (#SMSOCIETY) 2018
COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL
Jill Hopke (@jillhopke), Molly Simis-Wilkinson and
Patty Loew

2. • Internet-mediated activism by individuals, or
groups of people, who see themselves as
outsiders to decision-making processes
• Use of digital and social media applications
to amplify and document dissent
• Traditional modes of public participation are
exhausted or perceived to be ineffective
Disruptive Public Participation

3. Twitter conversation case studies
¨ 2013: Elsipogtog First Nation opposition to
shale gas exploration in New Brunswick,
Canada
¨ 2016/17: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline in
North Dakota, United States

4. Map credit: By Mikmaq - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5. Available at:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=966044
Elsipogtog First Nation

5. Mi’kmaq Encounters & Colonization
¨ 1534 King Francis I claims
“Acadie” for France; Mi’kmaq
never consulted
¨ By 1780s, 6,000 Acadians
living on Mi’kmaq lands
¨ Colonization Effects
¤ British sign peace & friendship
treaties with Mi’kmaq
¤ French lose war; cede Acadia
(New Brunswick) to British.
¤ Loyalists flood area after
American Revolutionary War.
¤ Mi’kmaq experience massive
land loss

6. Great Sioux Nation
¨ Standing Rock is one of 5 Lakota
Reservations in the West
¨ Encountered French, then
Americans
¨ 19th Century Colonization
¤ First Fort Laramie Treaty—safe passage
for settlers & miners heading west
(immediately broken)
¤ Second Fort Laramie Treaty-
acknowledged Sioux claims to Black
Hills, safe passage for settlers
(immediately broken after gold is
discovered in Black Hills)
¤ Battle of Little Big Horn, Wounded
Knee Massacre; land loss, poverty,
despair

7. Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline
Map credit: By Carl Sack, A #NoDAPL Map. Available at:
https://northlandia.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/a-nodapl-map/

8. § What is the relationship between Twitter
post volume and mainstream media
coverage of each issue?
§ What is the relationship between Twitter
post volume and public attention to each
issue?
Networked Agenda-setting

9. Standing Rock and DAPL Twitter
Standing Rock: 13,596,975 posts
Dakota Access Pipeline: 1,571,896 posts
Data collected with Crimson Hexagon.

10. Standing Rock vs. DAPL – Nov. 20-21, 2016
Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline
“Use of force” posts make up 58%, followed
by “water protection” (31%). Top 10
retweeted include more individuals and two
from @IENearth.
“Native/treaty rights” posts make up 57%,
followed by “calls for government
intervention” (24%). Seven of the top 10
most retweeted are mainstream news.

11. Standing Rock and DAPL Mainstream Media and
Public Attention
Data collected with Lexis Nexis and Google Trends.

12. Elsipogtog Twitter
Elsipogtog: 185,329 posts Data collected with Crimson Hexagon.

13. Elsipogtog Mainstream Media and Public
Attention
Data collected with Lexis Nexis and Google Trends.

14. “Use of force” images can spark viral topics

15. $3 million…GoFundMe
$2.8 million…Legal Defense Fund
$ millions more…online supply wish lists (ie., Amazon.com)
How much did DAPL resonate?
10,000
supporters
visited
#noDAPL
camps
400 Tribal
Flags
posted at
Sacred
Stone
camp
561,000+
signed
online
petition

16. Disruptive Social Media as Participation
¨ A way for marginalized groups to draw
attention to their concerns
¨ Social media attention, similar to media
and public attention, is episodic and
event-driven
¨ Images depicting violence can spark “viral
topics” and heighten public attention
¨ Political opportunities still critical to
achieving movement goals

17. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?
Jill Hopke (@jillhopke)