“Google fracking:” The online information ecology of the English shale gas debate

A strong online response has marked contention on shale gas from the outset, as campaign members link across borders to share information and inform themselves about the impacts of development. In this article, we apply a post-political lens to online activity in the English shale gas debate, to determine how this complex information ecology has shaped the dynamics of protest. Using shale gas development in Lancashire, North West England, as our case study we argue that the seismic events of 2011, in combination with the Government framing of public scepticism as a matter of information deficit led to an online information divide which constrained how effectively the dominant institutional actors could engage. Between 2011 and 2017, three challenges of online information: complexity, overload and loss of gatekeepers, served to perpetuate this division. Anti-shale gas campaigners were less constrained in their activity but the substantial burden of online activism contributed towards perceptions of disempowerment, as improved information access failed to deliver policy influence. The ultimate consequence was to contribute towards the turn to direct action. Applying a post-political analysis to online activity in information-intensive issues yields valuable insights into the varied ways in which internet use may influence the expression of dissent.