SLAPPing Back: Analyzing Greenpeace's $660 Million Crisis Narrative

In March of 2025, the environmental group Greenpeace was found liable for nearly $667 million to Energy Transfer, the oil company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The lawsuit centered around Greenpeace's involvement in DAPL protests nearly a decade earlier. Energy Transfer's lawsuit is a textbook Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), a lawsuit that weaponizes civic torts to infringe upon First Amendment rights. The jury delivered a verdict that is unprecedented in SLAPP litigation--one that has the potential to "chill" future public participation. This thesis uses a crisis narrative framework to analyze Greenpeace's public response to the lawsuit, particularly the language Greenpeace uses to renew support for their organization and the broader environmental movement.