This study explores ideological convergence in an online petition. More specifically, it depicts an echo chamber, composed of the petition text, its updates and comments left by signatories. The petition examined ‘Non, Monsieur Hulot, vous n’êtes pas seul!’ (No, Mr. Hulot, you are not alone!) is an expression of support to the resigned French minister of ecology, Nicolas Hulot, and a general call for ecological action. The data consists of the petition text and nearly 2,000 comments. The study identifies five main functions for the comments: confirmation of signature, self-presentation, (dis)agreement, mobilisation and the circulation of information. The analysis also shows that the main source of ideas and linguistic elements circulated in the comments is the petition text.

Keywords
online petition, echo chamber, comments section, convergence, web activism