Echoes of Dissent: Intermedia Frame-Setting Between Social Media and Legacy Media in the Debate Over Climate Protesters in Germany

This study examines how polarized attributes and frames of climate protesters diffuse across social and legacy media. It shows that polarization is driven less by ideologically segregated media environments than by a discursive backlash that amplifies antagonistic frames across ideological divides. Climate protest provides a particularly instructive case, as protest tactics frequently spark debates over legitimacy and legality that can become problematic when shaped by ideologically motivated framing. Focusing on the climate protest group the Last Generation in Germany, this study analyzes how polarized attributes and frames diffused between Twitter/X and legacy media in 2022 and 2023. Using a mixed-methods approach, we identify six polarized frames across approximately 1.5 million tweets and 2500 news articles. Combining (semi-)automated content analysis with time-series analysis, we trace the dynamics of attribute and frame diffusion. Our findings show that polarization emerged less from isolated ideological camps than from contentious dynamics across media spheres. Following a traffic accident involving protesters, conservative-right-wing actors from social and legacy media introduced and intensified antagonistic frames, which diffused into liberal-left-wing media largely through critical engagement. Although intended to challenge these frames, such coverage amplified them, enabling right-wing actors to shape the interpretive boundaries of the debate.