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Patterns of Type and Content in an Online Policy Controversy472we see opponents using more types of images (e.g., data visualisations), while proponents, in general, spread the visual presence on the debate.In South African results of 2018 and 2019, we see mainly four groups of actors: industry actors (who are, in general, proponents), activists and NGOs (which are typically opponents), governmental actors, and scientists. There is a lower rate of industry actors in 2019 top rank results than 2018, and a higher rate of activists and NGOs in 2019 than 2018. Besides, we see a lower rate of pro-actors and a higher rate of against-actors in 2019 than in 2018. The lower rate of participating industry actors, the higher rate of activists and NGOs, and the fact that they are mostly against-fracking actors might indicate a change in public involvement. In 2019, the presence of pro- hydraulic fracturing firms, at least in the digital sphere, is weaker, while actors that voice interests of specific populations (such as farmers) have a more substantial online presence. This observation is an important finding, as South Africa is a country in which interests of the community are rarely part of the discourse.As for the UK, the controversy was as intense in 2018. Local associations were pressuring the government (pro shale gas exploration) to ban this method. In 2019, the government became neutral and signed no exploration agreements after some anti-fracking local pressure. This shifting was probably a consequence of imminent elections and Brexit discussions when many government sectors opted to ‘neutralise’ the discourse to preserve votes on other agendas. The British visuals in 2018 were linked to technocratic concerns (such as safe operations, economic viability) and possible danger to cultural and natural local heritage. Over the next eighteen months, more significant community protest groups put pressure on local governments, especially in areas where shale gas exploration was about to be implemented. It resulted in a higher prominence of these actors in the online debate in 2019, together with the presence of a more substantial visualisation against hydraulic fracturing in all clusters of images.2.6 DiscussionThis study was based on a conceptual approach in which visuals are digital objects in online controversy mapping, and we adopted digital methods to study the Efrat.indd 47 19-09-2023 09:47