Social media creating digital environmental publics: Case of Lynas Malaysia

•Digital media provide activists with alternative platforms to create public sentiment around an issue in government controlled media environments.•Social media has reduced complacency by government and businesses regarding environmental issues.•Digital media has increased environmental awareness among the public through cyber protests going viral, as in the case of Lynas.

Internationally, strategic use of digital media has successfully united activists with voters on a number of social issues. One such issue is the case of Lynas, an Australian rare earth mining company, wanting to set up a refinery in Malaysia prompting Malaysian NGOs to share, collaborate and communicate online with various stakeholders, international NGOs and the public to ensure a slowdown on the operations of Lynas in Malaysia. This paper examines how anti-Lynas public sentiment was successfully created through social media for an activist campaign.