Climate Change Denial: Media’s Misperceptions

Photo/Courtesy: King (2021)

Have you been scrolling through Instagram or TikTok and come across a video and believed it right away? What if I told you that 53% of TikTok users trust others to be authentic on the platform, creating misleading mass media consumption (Nielsen Study, 2021)? 

Climate change is one of many topics that receive widespread false information on the internet. According to a 2024 study by the University of Michigan, relatively 15% of Americans deny climate change’s presence (Mullinix, 2024). 

Major social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are fundamental to shaping society’s narrative. When using a media platform, algorithms provide content tailored to that person’s consumption. Climate change denial was curated within certain media’s narrative through misinformation and targeted audiences. Algorithms are designed to send consumers down rabbit holes, including climate misinformation. Meta claims they use AI and human review to eliminate misinformation, including climate falsities (BBC News, 2022).

Photo/Courtesy: BBC News (2022)

Due to political campaign tactics, specific populations are targeted more for climate misinformation. According to Norgaard (2011), targeted individuals, like climate skeptics, consume an influx of media to spread information about concepts like the normal ebb and flow of our earth’s climate (p. 66). It’s also noted that climate science misunderstandings have existed since the 1980s, with ideas and concepts about the ozone layer. 

More vulnerable populations, like youth, are at great risk of online misinformation. A study found that 85% of Americans ages 13 to 17 use YouTube as a primary news source, where misinformation is highly prevalent (AP News, 2022). With inadequate climate change education within schools, students may be unable to consider its human impact and consequences.

Although with youths’ access to an abundance of misinformation, there is still limited knowledge about climate change, below 60%, suggesting a need for effective climate education within the schools (PMC, 2013). There is an emotional impact when false information spreads and collides with facts. Along with typical teenage emotional challenges, the conflicting social narratives can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and despair in a student’s well-being (Wired, 2021). 

Social Work Practices and Interventions: What can we do?

Ecosocial work is a growing field in micro, mezzo, and macro settings, providing services to populations in need. Social workers aid marginalized communities by viewing issues of power, equity, and environmental justice through a critical lens. Similarly, using other interventions with trauma-informed practices and cultural responsiveness is important to empowering groups to do their own work. 

Technological environmental justice can be served through:

  • Micro: therapeutic interventions, mental health support, individual empowerment, client education, and supporting individuals with personal advocacy and outreach.
  • Mezzo: organizing educational workshops that include cyber safety and literacy, curriculum development, and culturally responsive outreaches.
  • Macro: public awareness through media and art, advocating for tech and social media policy change, and involvement of ecological justice framework within climate planning. 

As a final point, the extensive influence that social media has on individuals and communities greatly shapes our society’s divided narrative. Mainstream media has created a rich space for climate change misinformation, affecting youth and other vulnerable populations. The digital falsification has shown emotional and social repercussions through misinformation, confusion, lack of education and media literacy skills. 

Social workers have a wide-ranging position to intervene in multiple areas, including micro, mezzo, and macro levels, while maintaining cultural equity and empowerment. Addressing climate change denial is not only about awareness and correcting facts, it’s about judiciously engaging with the media to strengthen communities and advocate for a connected and informed future. 

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