How Opposition Grows in Private Facebook Groups

Private Facebook groups are the most common tool that clean energy opponents use for organizing. When projects are still in their infancy, opponents use Facebook to quickly organize outside of the public eye - recruiting followers, setting the narrative and stoking fear. Our team found common threads in how private Facebook groups commonly operate:

• In their early stages, opposition will post in public community groups to recruit followers, some offering gift cards or giveaways to people who join. Followers on private opposition groups tend to increase rapidly in the first two to four weeks and then level off.  

• Dedicated opposition groups are common, but users may also try to hijack an existing private community group and turn it into a hub of anti-project information.  

• Similar to real-life opposition, most activity is usually generated by a few individuals who do most of their posting and sharing on evenings and weekends.  

• Dissent is rarely tolerated on private opposition pages. Comments in support of a project are often deleted, and users who post them are commonly banned from the group.  

• Roughly 80% of the posts on a typical page are shares from other opposition groups. Opponents from across the country connect and support each other in a misinformation ecosystem that provides a deep well of message-tested rage bait.  

• This echo chamber reinforces anxiety and suspicion about renewable energy and makes fringe ideas seem more common. (this phenomenon is not unique to clean energy)  

• Project facts get tossed aside quickly – the common messages in private Facebook groups are based on emotion and identity. Topics like loss of farmland, chemical contamination, harm to wildlife or geopolitics are common. The group admins will focus usually focus on topics that generate the most engagement. 

So how can developers build trust and acceptance in this environment?

The Takeaway: Since social listening tools can’t access private Facebook groups, focused community engagement and a presence on the ground is essential to understanding opposition’s concerns, identifying pro-development voices and crafting effective messaging. If you’re interested in more info, get in touch.