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Chapter 2342019; Stevens et al., 2016). They also have an important role in making information accessible and created an overabundance of information for the general public (Camargo & Grant, 2015).Within this data-profusion, visual content is essential as it engages the public by telling a story about the policy issue, which can significantly affect the public’s interpretation and alignment to sides of the contest (Hullman & Diakopoulos, 2011). As digital objects and networked content, visuals cross boundaries, influencing the problem definition and pointing to specific positions and solutions (Metze, 2020; Niederer, 2018; Van Beek et al., 2020). For instance, images of flames from tap water from the documentary Gasland circulated online and can be considered an essential element in how the debate about shale gas exploration evolved. For instance, in the United States, visuals strengthened the association with risk (Gommeh et al., 2021; Mazur, 2016). In the Netherlands, visualisations contributed to a frame-shift and possibly to the debate’s evolution until the technology was banned (Metze, 2017, 2018a, 2020).In this paper, we investigate the visual aspects of the online debate about hydraulic fracturing in three different internet regions, or web spheres.3 The countries associated with these spheres were each in a different stage of the emerging controversy in 2018. In the United Kingdom (UK) it was a full-fledged controversy (Bomberg, 2017b); in South Africa (SA), it was becoming contested (Atkinson, 2018; De Wit, 2011); and in Mexico, governing actors were still exploring the potential of shale gas production (Valerio-Ureña & Rogers, 2019).In this exploratory study, we aimed to gain more insights into the importance of visualisations as distributors of information in emerging online controversies. We identified how proponents, opponents and neutral actors visualised the controversy at two different points in time: 2018 and 2019. The research questions were: a) who are the online actors involved in the controversy (the online public); b) which types of visuals does each position – pro, anti or neutral – use to support their standpoint? c) Are standpoint and type and content of visualisations shifting over time? d) What are possible country-specific explanations of these shifts?3 Here, we borrow the idea of web spheres from Rogers (2013) to characterize internet domains related to countries (ex: “.uk”, “.mex”, and “.sa”). According to the author’s discussion, what happens in these internet “regions” is somehow connected and representative of the geographic setting. Therefore, mapping the web sphere would allow us to “ground” digital research results.Efrat.indd 34 19-09-2023 09:47