‘Peaceful protesters’ and ‘dangerous criminals’: the framing and reframing of anti-fracking activists in the UK

The process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to produce shale gas remains controversial. Most research in this area has focussed on the environmental and economic impacts, with concerns for water, soil and air pollution, seismic activity and cost effectiveness being most prevalent. In contrast less attention has been given to the identities and experiences of a growing number of anti-fracking groups and campaigns. This research explores how grassroots activists in the UK have been framed and reframed in media, political and campaigner discourse. Through a combination of semi structured interviews with activists at three protest sites in July 2017 and analysis of media coverage at that time in the national and local press, it explores the extent to which discretionary policing practices, conflicting media reports and fluctuating framings have impacted the movement’s ability to exercise its democratic right to protest.