Today, Instagram—one of the most popular social media platforms—has become a significant socio-cultural field for examining emerging forms of social activism, including animal-rights advocacy practiced by Iranian bloggers. The purpose of this study is to explore the processes through which two prominent Iranian animal-rights advocates, Sajjad Nadimi and Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, construct legitimacy, gain credibility, and generate symbolic capital, as well as to compare their differing modes of engagement within the Instagram field. These two figures were selected due to their large follower bases and their markedly different levels of cultural and social capital, despite sharing a common activist goal.

The main research questions address how cultural, social, and economic capital are accumulated on Instagram, and which processes lead to the production of symbolic capital and enhanced social influence compared to other competitors. Data consisted of posts, stories, images, and hashtags posted by the two bloggers over a ten-day period, and were analyzed until theoretical saturation was achieved. A directed qualitative approach was employed, using Bourdieu’s theoretical framework of field and capital, and coding was conducted according to the dimensions of classical forms of capital.

Findings indicate that Bourdieu’s classical forms of capital are primarily represented in the Instagram animal-advocacy field through digital and visual capital. “Narrative construction,” “distinction-making,” “dualistic framing,” and “legitimization” emerged as the central techniques for activating symbolic capital, leading to increased visibility and the attraction of both material and emotional support from followers.