The construction of sustainability discourse in media coverage: A critical discourse analysis of the avoskin trail run event
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Background: This article examines how the discourse of sustainability or “green” is constructed in Indonesian online media coverage through a case study of the Avoskin Trail Run 2025 event. 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 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 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, which ultimately aims to encourage purchasing decisions. Novelty/Originality of this article: This study innovatively integrates Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis with greenwashing and green capitalism critiques to reveal how Indonesian online media legitimize corporate sustainability narratives in coverage of the Avoskin Trail Run 2025, exposing the role of digital journalism ecosystems in transforming marketing discourse into hegemonic “green” prestige within platform-mediated culture.
Source: Linkage
Author: Lutvi, Agung Lokananta
Institution: Universitas Gadjah Mada
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7217291381