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A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed in

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Holly Handy

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil

protests are framed in the UK online news
media

Holly Handy

Project supervisor: Dr Ed Symes, School of Psychology, University of Plymouth,

Drakes Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA

Abstract
Previous research has found that when the news media reports on demonstrations, protest
groups can be subject to delegitimising coverage. This body of research can be subsumed
under Chan & Lee’s “protest paradigm” and is believed to consist of a set of narrative frames
that journalists default to in the coverage of protests. Recent research demonstrates how the
use of these framing devices may be in decline and advocates for a more integrated
approach to protest coverage. However, there is little research that uses analytic frameworks
specifically theorised to explore media framing. This study uses Giles and Shaw’s media
framing analysis in conjunction with Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis to explore the use
of media frames in coverage of Just Stop Oil protests. The data set includes 22 UK online
news articles from 6 UK news publishers. The results of this analysis showed that a large
portion of the articles employed delegitimising frames in the coverage of Just Stop Oil
Protests. However, a portion of articles have also demonstrated legitimising coverage, either
exclusively, or in tandem with delegitimising frames.

Keywords: protest, Just Stop Oil, social movements, protest paradigm, media framing, news
reporting, journalism

Published by PEARL, 1
 Submission to The Plymouth Student Scientist

Introduction
Historically, public protest has served as a powerful mechanism for amplifying the
voices of marginalised or underrepresented groups and has influenced substantive
social and political change (Cottle, 2008). Protest continues to be an increasingly
prevalent means through which citizens articulate their position on specific issues
(Brannen et al., 2020), particularly in Britain and Western democracies (Milne, 2005).
Despite this, social movements still face a central challenge in effectively
disseminating their message (Mattoni & Treré, 2014). While online social media may
form important lines of communication once an issue gains visibility, it is thought that
initial public awareness is shaped by traditional news media (Bennett & Segerberg,
2012). Examples of this are grassroots climate movements, such as Just Stop Oil
(2024), which aim to draw further awareness to the ongoing problems posed by
climate change and the human contributions towards it.

Although objectivity is thought to be central to journalism (Maras, 2013), news

publishers share accountability for how the public attitudes towards social
movements are reflected and shaped through the media framing of protests.
Previous findings posit an asymmetry in the dynamic between journalists and
activists, where the movement requires coverage of issues more than the press
requires their stories (Gamson & Wolfsfield, 1993). With an increase of activists
jostling for media attention, journalists may view activists and movements as
manipulative and are more inclined to omit their stories or cover them more
unfavourably (Sobieraj, 2010).

There is already a substantial body of literature relating to the coverage of social

movements in the media and is often subsumed under Chan & Lee’s (1984) “protest
paradigm”. This work argues that mainstream media coverage delegitimises the
message of social movements and marginalises or omits their goals in favour of
details such as the deviance of protesters or their tactics (Boykoff, 2006). The
foundational work (Chan & Lee, 1984) is dated, and media ecology has changed
over the past fifty years, especially given the rise of internet use (Bennett &
Segerberg, 2012). However, some recent research states that this paradigm used to
delegitimise movements is steadily in decline (Cottle, 2008; Harlow & Brown, 2023)
and has a number of limitations (Boyle, McLeod, & Armstrong, 2012). Furthermore,
research suggests that some news media outlets are attempting to highlight positive
aspects of social action, particularly in reference to environmental movements
(Brown & Harlow, 2019). Previous research has taken various approaches to
exploring the dynamic between the media and social activism. This is limited in that
many approaches that are used in this body of research were not primarily developed
with media analysis in mind (Giles & Shaw, 2009).

This article aims to conduct a qualitative media framing analysis (Giles & Shaw,
2009) along with thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to analyse the textual
devices used by the UK news media in their framing of continued and current public
disruption from the environmental group, Just Stop Oil, during the outlined period.

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

Overview
In recent years, the UK has seen growth in grassroots environmental movements that
have taken to protest and direct action to draw awareness to the contributions of
climate change. The public has seen the rise of grassroots environmental groups
such as Just Stop Oil (JSO), Extinction Rebellion (XR), and Animal Rising, who
orchestrate local action based on the principle of non-violent, civil disobedience.
However, the start of 2023 saw a divergence in tactics between grassroots
movements, with XR stating ‘We Quit’ in January, while they refocused their action on
the financial system, the media and the government directly as opposed to public
disruption. This was informed by surveys that discovered disruptive tactics elicit
negative public attitudes (Parkes et al. 2023). This also falls in line with research from
Gitlin (2003) who found that such tactics were portrayed negatively by news media.
Despite this, Just Stop Oil vowed to continue to take part in non-violent public
disruption during this period. Their aim was to stand against the UK government’s
plans for new oil and gas exploration licences. The current study focuses on the Just
Stop Oil group and their ongoing protest in the first five months of 2023, as a working
example of how the UK news media frames grassroots environmental movements.
With the worldwide warnings posed by climate scientists and a collective concern
about the ongoing climate crisis (Baumann, 2021), questions are raised about the
causal mechanisms that may be at play to elicit such a response toward
environmental protest. The majority of UK citizens have not been directly impacted
by the actions of social movements, since they mainly target Central London and
large events (Scheuch et al. 2024) so research focus turns to how they receive
information about such issues.

Lipsky (1968) likened protest to the falling of a tree unheard in the forest and
highlighted the importance of amplification of protests if they were to succeed. As
such, many grassroots movements like JSO rely on the news media to convey
information about their goals and put their message out to wider audiences. Yet there
is little journalistic value in simply sharing a message, so activists must generate this
interest by employing protest tactics (such as roadblocks or throwing powdered paint)
to place them within media contention (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012). Boykoff (2006)
suggests that the need to gain media attention contributes to the escalation of
extreme protest tactics. However, as Gitlin (2003) points out, extreme or disruptive
tactics frequently elicit negative press, leaving protesters a thin line to tread.
Previous research suggests that journalists have failed to cover protest agendas or
accomplishments and have instead focused on dramatization of protests, highlighting
tactical action and confrontations (Harlow & Johnson, 2011; Chan & Lee, 1984).
These journalistic patterns constitute the protest paradigm (Chan & Lee, 1984). Both
journalists and readers are thought to be drawn to stories that show conflict, which
may contribute to this portrayal (Boyle, McLeod & Armstrong, 2012). Frames may
delegitimise protesters by focusing on their actions, tactics, appearance, or
behaviours (Mourão et al., 2021). Conversely, frames can also legitimise protesters
by considering the substance of the protest and the overarching message of the
group (Mourão et al., 2021).

Published by PEARL, 3
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Media Framing
Given the importance of protests' contribution to social change (Abrams & Hogg,
1988), researchers must consider the journalistic processes that may curb their
influence. One notable element is how information is framed within news media
(McComas & Shanahan, 1999). Media framing is concerned with the salience of
particular aspects of a subject and can influence people’s beliefs about a topic
(Sheufele,1999). In framing theory, Entman (1993) states that it is not possible to
represent the entirety of an issue, so, certain aspects of reality, or themes, will be
given emphasis and others will be marginalised or omitted entirely. This creates a
specific media lens through which audiences view a presented issue.
The media acts as an important cultural mechanism that informs the public of current
affairs through the reflection and shaping of social dynamics. Culture is defined as
the base from which we derive knowledge, meaning and comprehension of the world
around us (Hall, 2020). People then become prone to drawing conclusions about
reality based on what they are frequently exposed to as well as their routinely
structured beliefs (Reese, 2001) and may be attributed to a set of common,
demonstratable frames (Entman, 1993). Frames can be constructed in news media
using a range of textual devices, such as choice of words, headlines, quotes,
descriptions, debates, and images (Pan & Kosicki, 1993). These can also act as
markers that help people to draw swift (sometimes biased) conclusions about certain
issues they encounter due to heuristics and can also contribute to the media we
consume through selection bias (Knobloch-Westerwick, Mothes & Polavin, 2020).
Instead of using explicit explanations, journalists can also employ peripheral cues
that can help the audience process information in context to their own psychological
biases (Ecker, 2014).

We are largely informed on issues through the news media so the source an
individual chooses may have an influence over the quality of information they receive
and the kind of frames they encounter (Scheuch et al. 2024). Literature suggests that
people tend to favour information that confirms their beliefs and values, due to
confirmation bias (Ling, 2020). Hence, they are more likely to dismiss competing
frames (Sniderman & Theriault, 2004). Since people prefer to have their
conceptualisations confirmed (Ling, 2020), readers will be more likely to consume
news media that does not challenge their position on a particular issue (Simmons,
2017). Media framing can then influence relationships between readers, perceived
reality, and the wider social contexts. This cycle further contributes to deeply
entrenched journalistic norms and narrative frames that continue to define stories
within the media. Although media ecology has changed since the rise of the internet,
it is generally still agreed that the mainstream media retains status to inform, set
agenda and grant legitimacy to issues it deems worthy (Liebes & Blum-Kulka, 2004).

Methodology
Method and Materials
This research uses media framing analysis (Giles & Shaw, 2009) and thematic
analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to analyse twenty-two articles from six online news
media publishers spanning from the 1st of January 2023 to the 1st of June 2023.

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

News surrounding protests was particularly salient within the media at this time due
to the proposal of the Public Order Act (2023) amendments and a divergence in
grassroots tactics - this was reflected within the analysis. This timeframe also allowed
for an analysis of recent representations of climate activism in the media with many
forms of protest taking place.

Bias
When conducting qualitative data analysis, the researcher becomes responsible for
making judgments about coding, themes and contextualising data (Starks & Trinidad,
2007). It is important to note that researchers cannot be completely free of their own
epistemological and theoretical positions. Considering these elements of subjectivity,
it would be short-sighted to suggest that these are the only interpretations that could
be drawn from this data set, though this has been mitigated to the best degree
possible by employing specific approaches to analysis, as well as by stating one’s
epistemological standpoint. A reflexive journal was kept throughout to ensure rigour
and trustworthiness in decision-making throughout. Although every effort has been
made to mitigate bias in this research, the interpretation of this data is still subjective,
however, there is the aim of retaining robust and comparable results if another
researcher were presented with the same data set and approaches to this question
(Koch, 1994). It should also be noted that the researcher takes the position that
social struggles should not be treated as a competition and that no level of
oppression should be deemed more, or less important than another.

Participants and criteria for selecting articles

There were no participants in this qualitative study since it is an analysis of online
news media. All news articles were publicly available and sourced via Lexis+ and
were filtered by the outlined timeframe and search criteria. The news sources
included in this study are six UK national online news publishers (The Sun, The
Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Independent, The Telegraph and BBC News) to gain
an overview of what is widely distributed and consumed within the UK. Publishers
were also selected to allow for coverage of different political partisanship and
newspaper types. The majority of news articles were sourced via LexisNexis ‘Lexis+’
and were filtered by the outlined timeframe and search criteria ‘Just Stop Oil’ AND
‘Protest’. The news articles from The Sun and the BBC were searched for directly on
their website between the dates outlined since the Lexis+ database did not facilitate
these outlets in the search, however, the article selection followed the same search
protocols. The articles were filtered by news publisher and from each, every fifth
article was selected from the archive that contained the outlined search terms. Before
coding began, articles were screened as the first step of macroanalysis (Giles &
Shaw, 2009). Any that were below 250 words in length or only briefly mentioned the
outlined search terms were omitted from the study as they did not offer the relevance
or depth required for further analysis or generalisation. This applied to two articles
and took the dataset from 24 articles down to 22 (full list in Appendix A). While this
selection of online news publishers omits some of the smaller, regional news sources
which may have offered a more nuanced insight into UK news media, the aim was to
facilitate an understanding that is broadly representative of the UK’s wider location,
culture and population in online news media for generalisability purposes.

Published by PEARL, 5
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Analytic procedure
Media framing analysis (MFA) was the predominant framework used in this research,
which consists of five steps as outlined by Giles and Shaw (2009). Alongside this,
thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was also used as part of the initial
language analysis in step 4 of MFA and helped ensure the rigour and credibility of
theme development.

This study takes a constructionist standpoint which allows researchers to theorise

how socio-cultural context may influence the accounts that are presented to them
and is particularly useful in the analysis phase as it focuses more on the
generalisation aspect of media framing analysis. This ensures that research is guided
by theory, rather than the agenda of the researcher (Giles & Shaw, 2009). An
inductive approach was used in the initial coding of the data and for the development
of themes. This approach is largely data-driven and does not attempt to fit data into
preexisting coding frames or themes that may be influenced by a researcher’s
preconceptions or theories (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Instead, it allows for diverse
coding and scope for the development of themes and theories that may have been
omitted by solely deductive approaches.

For the analysis, a semantic approach was mainly used for initial codes and to
explore the language used as part of thematic analysis. A latent approach was taken
to identify and examine the underlying conceptualisations within the coded data. This
approach aims to go beyond the semantic level of analysis by including interpretive
work that is based on themes and theories that were developed in the inductive
phase of coding and aligns most with the constructionist viewpoint. However, these
dimensions are not dichotomous, and the combination of these techniques facilitates
a rich understanding of the data.

The following outlines the five main stages of media framing analysis (MFA) as
developed by Giles and Shaw (2009) along with some relevant examples from this
paper’s application of the framework.

Identify the story

This is the distinctive news peg (Cooper & Yukimara, 2002), or triggering event that
acts as the source of the story. For example, in many of the articles in this analysis,
the news peg or source was Just Stop Oil initiating protests, which coincided with the
initial search terms. Secondary news pegs were the disruption caused by JSO
protests in central London or at large-scale events.

Identify the characters

This step entailed using a narrative analytic approach to identify the key protagonists
within the text. This ranged from identifying characters (macroanalysis) to developing
a richer character analysis (microanalysis). Agency is also established at this stage to
determine ‘who is doing what to whom’ (Entman, 1991). This was particularly useful
in exploring the various portrayals of dynamics between Just Stop Oil activists,
police, the government, and the general public within this dataset as they were all
mentioned frequently throughout the data.

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Narrative Form and Reader Identification

Reader identification asks who the audience is invited to identify with (Entman,1991)
Often this is not explicitly stated within the text, so inferences are usually made via
peripheral textual items such as headlines, images and quoted individuals. In several
stories about Just Stop Oil protests, the activists themselves were not quoted,
however, the voices of disgruntled members of the public held up by protests were
amplified, inviting the reader to identify with them, rather than the JSO message. The
inclusion of images which show rifts between the public and protesters further
highlights this, particularly in tabloid news outlets.

Identifying the narrative form relates to the form and structure of articles (Giles &
Shaw, 2009). It explores narrative conventions and helps the reader to identify
various features, such as high or low points, turning points and causal mechanisms
to communicate a sense of overall focus and meaning (Schulman, 1990). McLeod
and Detenber (1999) identified several narrative forms that are frequently used by
journalists in protest coverage and one that was frequently observed in this analysis
was a confrontation narrative – often between protesters and police or protesters and
the public, which emphasizes action or behaviour rather than the overarching
message of movements.

Analysis of language categories

This addresses the overall portrayal of a person, group or event by the media and
focuses on the specific language use. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis
was employed to carefully examine the articles and develop themes. Articles were
first coded inductively and semantically driven solely by the data, without reference to
the protest paradigm. These links later emerged through further latent analysis and
theoretical work. Further refinement allowed dominant themes to emerge, such as
‘protester attributes’, where the media language outwardly or inferentially targeted
personal aspects of JSO activists. The frequency of this language was also
considered as part of content analysis. Themes were identified using both semantic
and latent approaches, however, the latter was used most frequently to interpret
underlying meanings and application to wider contexts.

Generalisation
This refers to the wider social or cultural context to which frames may be applied.
These may involve wider debates, for example, protests were the main focus of
many of the articles, but within the same time frame, proposals for policy change
surrounding protest were particularly salient and relevant to this coverage. So it may
be possible to place this protest coverage in the wider frame of political change.

Discussion
The results of the analysis presented four dominant themes within the coverage:
Tactics, Protester Attributes, Law and Order, and Public Attitudes. This analysis
largely found framing devices that consistently delegitimised Just Stop Oil protests,
but this was not systematically the case. Upon further analysis and an in-depth
literature review, links the framing of Just Stop Oil Protests to aspects of the ‘protest
paradigm’ (Chan & Lee, 1984). However, not all aspects of frames in this analysis

Published by PEARL, 7
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provided evidence of this and explored some more positive facets in framing of JSO
protest. This is thought to be a new approach to framing protests and the causes of
this shift are not yet fully understood empirically (Gruber, 2023; Harlow & Brown,
2023).

One of the key contributing factors of these frames appeared to be the political
ideologies of the partisan and tabloid press. Evidence of the routinised frames that
delegitimise Just Stop Oil protests was predominantly found in the right-of-centre
partisan press and to a greater degree in the tabloid press. There was less evidence
of the prevalence of these framing effects in left-of-centre coverage, which seemed to
frame protesters more positively overall. This was consistent in all stages of the
media framing analysis. This corresponds with previous research (Scheuch et al.
2024) which states that conservative media tends to frame climate activism more
negatively and inaccurately overall.

The left-of-centre coverage tends to frame Just Stop Oil protests more positively
overall, with some bias towards JSO action, particularly in terms of language and
reader identification. However, there were some caveats, in that coverage followed
debate frames, allowing readers more scope to interpret framing devices. This was in
line with work from Harlow & Brown (2023) that demonstrates a shift away from the
protest paradigm in favour of a more integrated approach to protest coverage. The
following themes outline further detail about the contributing frames as well as the
wider implications.

Theme 1 - Tactics
This theme was developed theoretically, mainly using evidence from the language
analysis and reader identification stages of media framing analysis. Evidence in this
data was found to link back to a large body of previous work which places the tactics
of protesters in a wider sociocultural context. It has previously been evidenced that
the media play a role in maintaining the status quo through their representation of
social movements (Brown, 2019). This can lead to the integration of systematic
biases which narrow the scope of social discourse and can impact the force of social
change. This includes highlighting or sensationalising the level of deviance of a
protest group's tactics, rather than the sharing of their message, which can impact
the perceived effectiveness of the group (Hornsey et al., 2006). In one article the
Daily Mail discusses the proposed Public Order Act (2023) in relation to JSO tactics
and uses a section of a quote from Home Secretary (at the time), Suella Braverman:

“Ms Braverman said the Bill ‘will see proper penalties for the small
minority using guerrilla tactics to hold the public to ransom under the
guise of “protest”.” - Daily Mail, 6th February 2023 (See: Odling, 2023)

The reference to ‘guerrilla tactics’ is a particularly salient aspect of this sentence,

evoking an image of violence and raiding, behind the lines of larger forces – in this
instance, the police and the wider public. ‘To hold the public to ransom’ also invokes
images of the public as victims unless protester demands are met. However, there is

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

no mention of violent behaviour from the Just Stop Oil group in the data set, who
employ tactics such as sit-ins and peaceful roadblocks. McLeod and Detenber (1999)
found that inferences of violent tactics is a key indicator of media framing under the
protest paradigm, even when little to no violence occurs. Further to this, the Just Stop
Oil message was given no voice in The Telegraph articles and the group was not
quoted via a spokesperson in The Sun. The group were unable to disperse any
misinformation regarding their tactics, nor we they given an opportunity to share their
message. This gives little perspective to the audience and works to their confirmation
bias if their beliefs align with those outlined in the article (Ling, 2020). Of course, this
kind of coverage also feeds into an audience negativity bias, where negative
portrayals can seem appealing, and dramatic, yet unambiguous in form (Lengauer,
Esser, and Berganza, 2012) encouraging readership and clicks (Soroka, Fournier &
Nir, 2019). On the other hand, the framing of criminal damage to the picture frame of
a Leonardo da Vinci work was framed with a more neutral balance of voices. In one
report from the Guardian, which shows five JSO activists being charged, the district
judge in the story was quoted to say:

“All defendants gave very clear evidence that the primary purpose of their
endeavour was to attract the attention of major media outputs to give the
widest audience their message.”
-The Guardian, 8th February, 2023 (See: Quinn, 2023)

This aligns with the work of Boykoff (2006) who found that the need for media
attention was often a contributing factor to the employment of extreme tactics. Gitlin
(2003) pointed out that this kind of tactic would be framed negatively within the press.
However, this did not appear to be the instance in the Guardian article which offered
a nuanced take on the JSO protests and offers support to Harlow and Brown (2023),
who believe that there are opportunities for media outlets to move beyond the
limitations of the protest paradigm. This allows scope for the audience to understand
the spectrum of social struggle with more precision (Harlow & Brown, 2023) rather
than rely solely on peripheral cues and heuristics (Ecker, 2014). The use of the judge
as a credible actor (Hall et al., 2017) may lead the reader to believe that despite the
charges, the tactical choices of JSO did not intend to threaten or harm the wider
public or police, further inviting readers to identify with the JSO cause.
Outlined here examples of how tactics are framed differently and offer an insight into
the perception of violence and damage within the media. The traditional protest
paradigm assumes that all tactics interpreted as ‘violent’ are negative, but it does not
necessarily consider the power dynamics of who is doing what to whom (Entman,
1991).

This led to further analysis of the portrayal of power hierarchies, the tactics used and
the relation to reader identification within the data. Textual analysis of images from
the Daily Mail (6th Feb) article that claimed ‘guerrilla tactics’ from protesters also
shows police officers forcefully removing a JSO protester from the scene of peaceful
protest. By framing JSO protesters negatively, it offers perceived legitimacy to the
police actions in response to JSO ‘guerilla’ tactics and strengthens reader

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identification with the police (Hough, 2012). Research also claims that right-leaning
audiences perceive destruction and violence differently depending on who is doing it
(Hsiao & Radnitz, 2021). These judgements further confirm that pre-existing attitudes
and perceptions can influence how one thinks about protest and highlights how the
framing of tactics from any side of the protest can reinforce, or challenge this. The
sustained negative portrayal of tactics may canonise JSO protesters as a danger to
wider society (Loadenthal, 2013) even though the majority of their demonstration
tactics do not elicit direct physical threat to the public. Furthermore, the media's
tendency to report negative, misinformed, and sensationalised accounts can lead to
a distorted worldview, reinforcing beliefs that are not necessarily true to reality (van
der meer & Hameleers, 2022).

Theme 2 - Protestor Attributes

This theme was mainly constructed through semantic language analysis within the
articles and identified language that was used to described Just Stop Oil protesters.
Latent approaches were then employed to determine the underlying sentiments of
this language. Often this is related to their perceived group appearance,
socioeconomic status, level of education or values. Evidence found derogatory
language to be especially prevalent in the tabloid press, while left-of-centre outlets
took a more neutral approach.

Tabloids frequently used derogatory or sensationalised language to describe the

attributes of protesters. Much of the left-of-centre press did not include any instances
of derogatory language and referred to JSO protesters as ‘activists’ or ‘protesters’
throughout. On the other hand, in three separate tabloid headlines, they were
described as ‘eco-bullies’ ‘eco-yobs’ or ‘eco-mobs’. Which may act to gain the
audience's attention through sensational language use, that may imply some level of
violence or threat (Loadenthal, 2013) and invites the reader to stand against the
cause. Articles from The Telegraph (Daley, 2023; Woods, 2023) the perceived social
status of the protesters was included to further alienate them from the readership.
They were described as ‘middle-class militants with Messiah complexes’ or ‘members
of the social elite’ whose aims would ‘take away freedoms’ and ‘make working people
poorer’. This infers that Just Stop Oil protesters are a threat to the working-class
people of the UK, particularly if the readership considers themselves amongst lower
socioeconomic classes than those described (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). Although
JSO aims were not outlined in the article at all, the public works on the assumption
that their goals will somehow lead to poor outcomes for the working class. Without
further context, the reader cannot dispute this, and it may reinforce any existing
misconceptions that they hold (Chan, Jones & Albarracín, 2017). Additionally,
prejudice against groups that are deemed threatening acts as an insurance policy
that helps to support a group-based hierarchy as well as in-group hegemony
(LeBlanc et al., 2015).

Further language throughout the data refers to Just Stop Oil protesters as ‘stupid’,
‘eco morons’, ‘idiots’ and ‘puerile’. These words frame JSO protesters as unintelligent
or as lacking an understanding of the implications of their protests. This language
also acts to voice the disapproval, or displeasure towards the group who is acting

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outside of normative bounds. This invites the reader to identify with the ‘normative’
group and acts to reinforce the bounds of collective norms and solidify a collective
identity (Hogg & Reid, 2006).

The specific use of language draws the reader to analyse the cons, rather than the
possible collective benefits of climate action. Collins, Collins and Glover (2001) use
the term “collateral language” to describe the use of words or phrases that demean
activists. The news media utilises this, filling the media landscape with a certain
outlook, which is then adopted by wider public consciousness. As such, the
criminalisation or delegitimisation of groups like JSO becomes much more palatable
for the audience (Birss, 2017). This practice has been described as a kind of media
foul play, which acts as a form of social control that gains consent from the audience
to persecute a group or their actions (Collins, Collins & Glover, 2001). In this way, the
language choices of journalists to describe Just Stop Oil protesters contribute to the
delegitimisation of the movement in the public sphere.

Theme 3 - Law and Order

This was the most expansive frame in the data set and explored the use of language
and credible characters to frame JSO protesters in a certain way. It also explores the
frame's wider generalisations to legislation and politics, as well as the relation to the
audience. This theme focused on stages two to five of the media framing analysis.
Semantic approaches to explore the meaning of language analysis and latent
approaches to consider the wider generalisations that could be made from this. A
significant number of the articles followed a conflict narrative and included credible
actors from the UK government and the Metropolitan Police to make statements that
frame Just Stop Oil protesters as a potential threat to public safety and the status
quo. Intertwined with this was the discussion of new legislation to quell protests. One
framing device seen within these articles is the use of credible actors, who can offer
credence and help journalists frame an issue while remaining objective (Hall et al.
2017). In many of the right-of-centre stories that cover policing of protests, the reader
is invited to identify with actors who were pushing for further ‘police powers’ to quell
protests more effectively and with more force. In this data, Rishi Sunak (Prime
Minister) was given voice in one headline:

“Rishi backs new police crackdown on eco mob”

- Daily Mail, 16th January 2023 (See: Churchill, 2023)

To break this headline down, ‘Rishi’ offers credibility in a right-of-centre story and is
said to ‘back’ upcoming legislation, inviting the reader to identify with him. ‘Police
crackdown’ implies the use of further police force is needed in response to JSO
protests. In line with the definition of ‘mob’, ‘eco mob’ frames Just Stop Oil as a
disorderly crowd intent on violence, which does not align with the reality of the vast
majority of their protest tactics. Headlines as a framing device can offer subtle
misdirection in the interpretation of an issue which are thought to constrain further
information processing and may lead to biased interpretations even after the full text
has been read due to heuristics (Ecker et al. 2014). Once these interpretations have

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been made, people can be very resistant to correction, particularly if they align with
pre-existing beliefs (Ecker et al. 2022).

Further quotes from Suella Braverman (Home Secretary, at the time) claimed that
policing of JSO protests had ‘abandoned impartiality’ and police must ‘protect the
public’ even though no articles reported violence from JSO protesters. Both she and
Rishi Sunak expressed disdain towards the fact police were unable to implement
stricter measures upon public protest under current legislation, prompting
amendments to the Public Order Act (2023). They were quoted, alongside sources
from the Metropolitan police such as Sir Mark Rowley (Met. Commissioner) and
Karen Findlay (Met. Commander) who echoed these calls for ‘broadening the
definition of ‘serious disruption’. These officers reference the ‘unlawful actions’ of
protesters, despite the fact that the majority of protests in the articles were within the
remit of UK law. These subtle uses of language infer that there is criminality is
involved, with potential threats to public safety from this group.

Furthermore, Hall et al. (2017) coined prominent actors ‘accredited sources’ whose
voices act as primary definers of an issue within the news and offer credence to the
narrative that is portrayed. Journalists prefer to cite such actors since they offer
institutional authority and are considered objective, giving credibility to their work
(Dekavalla & Jelen-Sanchez, 2017). From the perspective of the audience,
established parasocial relationships with these characters can also help them to
make inferences about character motives and make sense of the story (Giles, 2002).
This pre-existing knowledge can be confirmed or contradicted by framing devices
since people use peripheral cues such as cohesion and familiarity to make swift
judgements about an issue (Ecker et al., 2022). For example, if the reader already
holds beliefs that the police and government are credible sources, they may be more
inclined to believe the devices used to frame protester action as unlawful or
dangerous, thus requiring stricter policies. In this way, media frames can shape and
further reinforce the attitudes of those who unwittingly seek out confirmation. This
may be because people can judge biased but attitudinally consistent news as more
credible than unbiased sources (Mackie & Queller, 1999).

In terms of generalisation to wider social contexts, it is important to recognise that the

news media operates in relation to wider institutions. As such, they may be
subordinated to extra-media interests (Reese, 2001) which may influence the use of
journalistic narratives and frames. For example, journalists are not always simply
sharing a message but can function as information intermediaries of developments in
the political arena (Davis, 2009). The actions of JSO pose a challenge to the political
ideologies of the UK Conservative government which remain in favour of new oil and
gas extraction, espousing the economic benefits (McNally, Howley & Cotton, 2018).
This aligns with recent research that found protests targeting the government receive
the most negative coverage overall (Scheuch et al. 2024). Furthermore, movements
that contest societal norms are subject to framing consistent with the protest
paradigm (McLeod and Hertog, 1992), with aims to delegitimise movements by
diminishing public support (Arpan et al., 2006). This in line with the fact that people
often select news sources consistent with political beliefs (Garret, 2009) shows how

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

delegitimization of protests can have wider sociopolitical implications. In this

instance, it highlights the legitimacy of the ‘right to exercise power’ (Tankebe, 2013)
against JSO protests so that they would be ‘shut down’ sooner, thus offering fewer
opportunities for voicing their cause, or making the press. This acts in accordance
with previous findings to legitimise police action against non-violent protesters
(Brown & Harlow, 2019) and further delegitimises Just Stop Oil’s agenda. These
framing devices use the proposal of punitive legislation against protesters based on
perceived moral and social concerns, rather than assessments of the actual
criminality of JSO (Tyler and Boeckmann, 1997).

Evidence of these effects was observed to a lesser degree in left-of-centre coverage

who take a more balanced approach. While there was coverage of the policing of
JSO protests, they were reported more objectively with debate frames. This allowed
the audience to engage with the issues and goals advocated by the movement,
without framing them as criminals or irrational characters (Harlow & Brown, 2023).
The balance of political actors with the voices of UN human rights actors and JSO
protesters treated the introduction of new ‘police powers’ as a debate, with both
positive and negative facets. This can also increase credibility for some readers,
where balanced reporting may seem more credible than one-sided reporting (Zhao &
Capella, 2008). Balanced reporting also allows an opportunity to engage in
systematic information processing to improve judgements of relative frames based
on previous knowledge (Chong & Druckman, 2007) since the reader is not relying
solely on heuristics (Ecker et al., 2022). However, further analysis of language
appeared to show some bias in favour of protesters - even when reporting on a
protest that saw five activists charged with criminal damage. The following quote
refers to the judge who is charging the activists in this case:

“However, he found all five guilty of damaging the wall and the frame,
though he said they did not “intend” to cause the damage...”
-The Guardian, 8th February 2023 (See: Quinn, 2023)

Although the activists were charged, it was treated procedurally, though the
minimisation of their criminality was observed. In this instance the JSO movement
was framed more as a ‘righteous struggle’ (Gruber, 2023) as opposed to complying
fully with criteria that support the protest paradigm. This is supported by Boyle and
colleagues (2012) who posit that the influence of political partisanship is a limitation
of the protest paradigm within news media. The paradigm appears to act as a
variable within the media framing of Just Stop Oil protests, highlighting the potential
of a more holistic approach to reporting protests moving forward (Harlow & Brown,
2023).

Theme 4 – Public Attitudes

This theme was identified through reader identification and language analysis.
Several articles described members of the public actively intervening in protests and
some even go on to assault JSO protesters. In tabloids, the reader was invited to
identify with the disgruntled members of the public and were even praised for their

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disruption to the protests by the writers. This theme goes on to discuss the
implications of the portrayal of immediate public attitudes and responses in the face
of JSO protests. The framing of the public in a portion of the data depicts them as
prominent figures standing up to JSO ‘bullies’. Headlines which act on heuristics
(Ecker et al., 2014) can help the reader make swift interpretations about who to
identify with:

“If the police won’t stop the eco-bullies, the public surely will” - The
Telegraph, 26th April, 2023 (See: Woods, 2023)

And a further statement from the author:

“I wouldn’t condone this behaviour – but I might not condemn it

vociferously, either.” - The Telegraph, 26th April, 2023 (See: Woods,
2023)
The language depicts Just Stop Oil as ‘bullies’ even though the rest of the article
shows public actions against peaceful JSO protesters. They go further in saying if the
police won’t stop them, the public will, further inciting action against lawful protest. In
the article, a member of the public takes a banner from the hands of Just Stop Oil
protesters and tries to forcefully move them from the road, but the writer omits further
information where the man throws a protesters phone on the ground. Lack of
condemnation from the author, who may be deemed a credible actor, invites the
reader to identify with members of the public who engage in action against JSO
protests. This further supports the notion that right-of-centre outlets frame violent
actions differently, depending on who is acting violently towards whom (Hsiao &
Radnitz, 2021). An article from The Daily Mail (Littlejohn, 2023) also frames the
protesters and police as united against the public:

“Yet rather than dragging them to the kerb by their greasy pigtails and
clubbing them like baby seals, Scotland Yard scrambled the elite
skateboard squad to give the self-styled ‘demonstrators’ a police
escort and protect them from the wrath of White Van Men, bus drivers,
ambulance crews, firefighters and assorted law-abiding citizens[…].”
- The Daily Mail, 24th April, 2023 (See: Littlejohn, 2023)

Here the journalist infers that protesters do not deserve police protection from the
‘wrath’ of the public. The use of language to describe protesters contrasts with the
author using upset ‘law-abiding’ citizens to gain reader identification, again
insinuating that protesters are generally not law-abiding. This division is important
because evidence shows that making an ingroup positively distinctive from an
outgroup can enhance the self-image as a group member (Abrams & Hogg, 1988).
Furthermore, when protesters are framed to challenge the moral convictions that are
perceived as important to the reader a negative response may be elicited (Anderson,

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

1981) and cause the reader to further identify with those who stand against the
protesters. The divisive language that frames protesters as ‘unlawful’ may be
troublesome in that perceived criminality instils a level of distrust (McKillop & Helmes,
2003). It also aligns with the ‘nuisance’ frame outlined by Gruber (2023) who found
that the grievances of protesters are marginalised and the inconvenience to the
general public and bystanders is offered salience.

To generalise this, readers who identify with the negative emotions of a group are
thought to facilitate the sharing of information and news online (Hasell & Weeks,
2016). It may work in the media's interest to get the audience to identify with negative
public attitudes using framing devices, particularly when online news sources rely on
site traffic (Soroka, Fournier & Nir, 2019). The negative framing of protesters does not
favour the JSO cause and aims to delegitimise and incite further public disapproval
through the portrayal of negative public attitudes and the perceived unlawfulness of
protesters. A crime reporter from The Independent framed Just Stop Oil protesters
as the victims of an ‘attack’ from members of the public in one headline:

“Just Stop Oil protesters attacked again as slow march protest blocks
London bridges” - The Independent, May 23rd, 2023 (See: Davis,
2023)

This article frames JSO protesters as the victims of public actions where a
motorcyclist attempts to ‘drive through the group’ which is further backed by an image
of the motorcyclist with the front tyre of their bike pushing against the legs of a JSO
demonstrator. The use of images that are spectacular or insinuate violence garner
public attention (Gillespie, 2010). The headline also acts as a peripheral cue to the
reader to help them decide whether it is worth pursuing this information (Ecker et al.
2022). The frames depicted in these textual devices may work upon negativity bias,
which claims that people seek information that they construe as negative so that they
may act against potential negative outcomes if they arise (Soroka, Fournier & Nir,
2019).

Unlike the previous articles, this invites the reader to identify with the protesters and
recognise the challenges that they face when acting for their cause. This article
focuses largely on the actions of members of the public and highlights the disparity
between arrests of protesters and those who have physically acted against members
of Just Stop Oil but again does not offer them an opportunity to share the message of
their cause. Although the overall favour of the piece falls to JSO, it still abides by
some level of confrontation framing (Brown & Harlow, 2019) which takes focus from
the cause and instead amplifies tensions between protesters and the public. In this
way the framing of public attitudes to JSO protests can work to delegitimise the aims
of the movement, which may include garnering public support (Gruber, 2023).

The results of this media framing analysis established the use of delegitimising
frames in the coverage of Just Stop Oil Protesters in the UK news media -
particularly in right-of-centre press and tabloids. This provides further evidence for

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the existence and perpetuation of Chan & Lee’s (1984) protest paradigm and much
of the work subsumed under this research. However, left-of-centre papers, The
Guardian and The Independent, along with the more centrally aligned BBC, did not
appear to systematically delegitimise protesters and occasionally used frames that
acted biasedly towards the cause. While some media frames within these articles
provided a critical assessment of JSO, there was an opportunity for empathetic
association with the group through the media’s use of legitimising frames. This offers
further support for Harlow and Brown (2023) who critically evaluated the use of the
protest paradigm and believe that the news media shows promise in moving away
from the protest paradigm toward a more integrated approach in the coverage of
protests. This demonstrates how offering a more balanced approach to framing can
allow readers to deliberate so that the overall quality of an argument becomes the
focus of interpretation, rather than frames (Chong & Druckman, 2007). It has also
been established here that preexisting attitudes towards a protest group and their
grievances will often be more important to readers than the media framing devices
used, particularly if the issue is already contested (Brown and Mourão, 2021).
This analysis explored how interpretations of source, reader identification, narrative
form, language use and wider generalisations contribute to the public perceptions of
Just Stop Oil protests. Further investigation found that certain aspects of JSO
protest, such as tactics, protester attributes, messages and interactions can be
trivialised, delegitimised, marginalised or omitted entirely. It identified several
techniques used by the media to manufacture a range of delegitimising and
legitimising frames that contributed to the portrayal of Just Stop Oil in the UK news
media. This study generalised the framing of JSO protesters to wider social contexts
and salient events that coincided during this period. In particular, the interactions
between the proposal of stricter policing of protests and the negative framing of Just
Stop Oil protests. The generalisation of negative frames to current power structures
held legitimacy in that political partisanship seemed to influence the framing of JSO
within this dataset.

Identified were a range of framing devices and textual cues such as headlines and
images, which act upon heuristics, causing readers to make swift judgements that
may confirm or challenge their beliefs before reading the article (Ling, 2020). The use
of specific language also contributed to the delegitimisation of Just Stop Oil across
much of the right-of-centre and tabloid news, though this was not often found to be
the case in left-leaning outlets.

Framing of tactics, protester attributes, (un)lawfulness and public attitudes explored

how JSO protests were framed as a potential threat to the wider public. This was
through the use of language to describe protests and protesters, which then
influenced who the reader was invited to identify with. Delegitimisation was also
purported through the omission of JSO voice in a portion of these articles, where
JSO were unable to defend their actions, nor share the message of their cause.
Marginalisation and omission of these aspects act as a frame in and of itself
(Entman, 1993) and further encourage the reader to identify against the JSO
protests.

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 Handy: A qualitative analysis of how Just Stop Oil protests are framed i

To further separate the JSO group from the reader, protester attributes were framed
negatively in the press, and aspects of their social class, their group status and their
intelligence were demeaned, alienating them from the reader and placing them into a
social outgroup (Hogg & Reid, 2006). Additionally, it was found that framing devices
could contribute to a range of narrative forms, such as conflict, nuisance, and
confrontation, which acted as blueprints in the framing of JSO protests and aligned
with many of the attributes outlined in the protest paradigm (Mcleod & Detenber,
1999).

On the other hand, several articles aimed to minimise the perceived threat from
protesters, using courteous and neutral descriptors. Alongside this, coverage aimed
to take a debate narrative, offering the reader an opportunity to make judgements
that were not solely based on peripheral cues or heuristics (Ecker et al. 2022).
Credible voices were also involved in minimising the perceived criminality of their
actions and the group were offered opportunities to share their message, contributing
to legitimisation of their protests.

A practical implication of this study is related to the finding that the political ideology
of the news outlet appears to be a mediating factor in the framing of Just Stop Oil
protesters. It then also relates to the perceptions and beliefs held by the audience in
that the audience chooses to engage with news that further confirms their beliefs
(Ling, 2020). When these factors are placed into the wider context of sociopolitical
norms and power structures, we can see how JSO protests may be seen to
challenge the current social norms and political interests. This may begin to explain
why delegitimising coverage acts as a variable across the UK news media coverage
of Just Stop Oil protests.

Conclusions
This study set out to explore how Just Stop Oil protests were framed in UK online
news media, using a combination of media framing and thematic analysis. The
findings revealed a complex landscape in which protest coverage varied significantly
depending on the political orientation of the news outlet, with both delegitimising and
legitimising frames present across the dataset. Overall, there is evidence of
delegitimising frames within a large portion of this data, though they are not
systematically applied throughout. The application of these frames does appear to
depend on the political partisanship of media outlets to a degree. Other factors that
may influence the interpretation of frames are the preexisting beliefs and political
ideologies of the audience and wider sociocultural power structures. Although
delegitimising frames are still prevalent in a large portion of the UK news media,
there are attempts to move away from these embedded journalistic narratives –
particularly in those with ‘left-leaning’ political partisanship. In this study,
delegitimising frames act as a variable within the UK news media in the framing of
Just Stop Oil protests. This adds further support for a potential shift towards more
holistic coverage of protests moving forward, providing that media frames can offer
more rounded coverage that considers multiple facets such as the overarching
message of protests, without sensationalising the use of protest tactics, protester
attributes, policing or public attitudes.

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Limitations and Future Work

This article is limited in that it only focuses on online new media sources. With the
rise of social media, we also see a steady decline in those engaging with the news
media. Additionally, it is important to recognise that these results may not be
generalisable to other regions of the world. To address these limitations, future work
may be best focused on other forms of media as well as considering media framing
effects spanning other countries.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Ed Symes for his invaluable support and
guidance throughout this project. There are lessons in this that I will carry with me
beyond this project.
My completion of this project could not have been accomplished without the
unwavering love and support of my partner, friends, family and dogs – I owe you all
my endless gratitude!

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hosting page.

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