November 02, 2016

Facebook check-ins as legitimate soft power: the Dakota Access pipeline

located:	USA
editor:	Vanessa Ellingham

By now you've probably seen at least one of your Facebook friends 'check in' to Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

In case you're still feeling left out: no, they haven't fled to the latest iteration of Woodstock and left you behind. And they didn't go on a work trip and forget to tell you about it.

Rather, it's a strategic move to protect protesters at the site from what some say is an attempt by police to track protesters at the site using Facebook.

Some say this is a hoax, but whether it is or not, 1 million people checked in to the site on Facebook over the past couple of days from all over the world. If anything, it's a strong show of solidarity.

So what are they protesting? The Dakota Access pipeline, an oil project that will tear through Native American lands. Members of the Standing Rock tribe say this could contaminate their water supply and threaten their cultural heritage. The pipeline's construction has already disrupted sacred burial grounds.

Activists - both Native Americans and other supporters - have been gathering in large numbers at Standing Rock, creating a huge camp which is now in a standoff with militarised police.

Hundreds have been arrested and a video showed police firing rubber bullets at some protests blocking the construction.

The protesters have drawn support from other indigenous peoples across the globe, as well as other supporters. And the international pressure - quite possibly created by the mass Facebook check ins - has pushed Obama to make a statement after remaining silent on the issue for weeks.

On Tuesday he said “We’re monitoring this closely and I think as a general rule, my view is that there is a way for us to accommodate sacred lands of Native Americans, and I think that right now the army corps is examining whether there are ways to reroute this pipeline.”

Sure, he's covering his bases. But keeping the possibility for rerouting on the table is an important statement. He didn't have to say that.

So what will happen to the $3.8bil pipeline hangs in the balance. It could all play out very differently following the US presidential election next week.

Because guess who has close financial ties to the pipeline operator? Let's just call him "Ivanka's dad".

Read more about oil in our dossier Beyond Petroleum.