This thesis aims to examine how social media can serve as a platform for discussing political consumerism, with a focus on the motives underlying stances in favor of or against a boycott. By analyzing the Swedish discussion surrounding the boycott of companies described as using Bovaer on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the study seeks to investigate the underlying motives that can be identified in how users frame the issue of Bovaer. The study adopts a qualitative content analysis and applies framing theory to explore the motives that can be identified in how Swedish users on X frame the issue of Bovaer. The material analyzed for this thesis includes various types of posts on X, such as original posts, replies, and other forms of posts to capture the full scope of the discussion in question.

The analysis of the discussion identified four frames for framing the issue of Bovaer: trust, non-issue, biological ethics and health risk. Those in favor of the boycott framed the issue using trust, biological ethics, and health risk. When the frame trust was used, it referred to low trust, distrust. Those against the boycott used the frames trust and non-issue. When the frame trust was used, it referred to high trust. Through the analysis of the discussion using the method and framing theory, the main identified motives are as follows: The central motive for supporting the boycott is distrust, expressed through low trust towards the actors discussed. This distrust is rooted in the belief that political decisions are influenced by factors that led to the approval of Bovaer by the European Commission, despite potential health risks and ethical concerns. In contrast, the central motive for opposing the boycott is trust, where confidence in the actors discussed leads to the assumption that the approval was made on valid grounds, with no reason to question factors such as health risks and ethical concerns. As a final point, this thesis contributes to the field of research by exploring the underlying motives behind boycott stances on X, with a focus on the Swedish context. This study addresses a research gap in the existing political science literature, particularly in relation to political consumerism on social media.