The construction of sustainability discourse in media reporting: A critical discourse analysis

Abstract

Background: This article examines how the discourse of sustainability or “green” is constructed in Indonesian online media coverage. As green consumerism increases in the national beauty industry, local brands such as Avoskin are increasingly articulating their environmental commitments through marketing strategies and corporate events to strengthen their brand image. Methods: This study uses a qualitative approach with Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) method to analyze four news articles from leading online media outlets. This analysis is informed by a theoretical framework on the typology of greenwashing Mahmoud (2018) and critiques of ‘green capitalism’. Findings: The findings show that media coverage uncritically reproduces corporate narratives, using positive lexicon (“real action,” “harmony”) that can be identified as specific greenwashing tactics, such as the ‘Sin of the Hidden Trade-off’ and the ‘Sin of Vagueness’. This discursive practice, which relies heavily on public relations sources, blurs the boundaries of journalism and functions ideologically to legitimize ‘green capitalism’. Conclusion: This discourse transforms consumptive events into ‘environmental actions’, which serve to accumulate symbolic capital Bourdieu (1986) for brands, while silencing counter-discourses about the systemic waste impact of industry. The media, in this case, acts as an agent of legitimacy, transforming economic capital into ‘green’ prestige Cock (2011), which ultimately aims to encourage purchasing decisions. Novelty/Originality of this article: This study applies Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis to Indonesian online media to reveal how digital journalism legitimizes corporate sustainability narratives and reproduces platform-driven green capitalism through subtle greenwashing discourse.