Social media has not democratised climate debate, says study

Social media has not democratised the climate debate Keystone-SDA

Social media has only partially democratised the debate on climate change. Established players continue to dominate, and climate-sceptical voices are gaining disproportionate visibility, according to a study by the Universities of Zurich and Münster.

Researchers from the Universities of Zurich in Switzerland and Münster in Germany analysed the international research literature on climate communication on social media for their review, the University of Zurich announced on Tuesday.

The analysis, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, covered global platforms such as X and TikTok, as well as regionally dominant networks.

The hope that social media could democratise climate communication by lowering barriers to entry was only partially realised. According to the researchers, early studies initially confirmed that civil society movements and members of the public were being heard more clearly.

Over time, however, it became apparent that established actors such as politicians, government bodies and traditional media continued to exert a strong influence on the debate. Furthermore, among the non-established voices, climate-sceptical actors often gained disproportionate visibility.

Separate worlds

According to the researchers, a recent development is the increasing fragmentation of debates across different platforms.

Previously, research had focused on echo chambers within individual networks, where people primarily encountered like-minded individuals. However, partly due to the rise of alternative platforms such as Truth Social, echo chambers are increasingly forming across different platforms. Users are then operating in separate worlds, which, the researchers say, makes it more difficult to achieve a common societal understanding of climate change.

Overall, climate-related content accounts for only a small proportion of communication on social media. People with little interest in the topic are less likely to be exposed to it than they used to be through traditional media.

It is unclear whether social media promotes knowledge about climate change, as study results do not paint a consistent picture. However, there are indications that social media users tend to overestimate their own knowledge of the subject.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.