Echo chambers of climate change denial are most prevalent in the U.S. Midwest and South, as well as in states heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
By Chelsea Harvey & E&E News
A cracked lake bed at Nicasio Reservoir during a drought in Nicasio, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021.
CLIMATEWIRE | A recent study utilizing artificial intelligence to analyze social media data revealed that nearly 15 percent of Americans still reject the reality of climate change.
This finding aligns with conclusions drawn from previous surveys. By employing a deep learning model akin to the technology utilized in ChatGPT, researchers were able to collect data from X (formerly Twitter) and investigate the relationship between climate science denial and various factors.
Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study highlights how individuals with similar perspectives on climate tend to gravitate towards each other on social media, creating echo chambers that reinforce their beliefs. This phenomenon poses challenges for scientists combating misinformation online.
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Senior study author Joshua Newell, a professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan, expressed concern over the stark divide between climate change acceptance and denial. He noted the lack of communication and interaction between the respective echo chambers on X.
The study also revealed that certain social media personas wield significant influence within their circles, with former President Donald Trump being identified as having the widest reach among X accounts that deny climate science.
Data was gathered from X posts by U.S. users between September 2017 and May 2019. Researchers utilized a deep learning model based on OpenAI’s GPT-2 language model to categorize posts as either affirming or denying climate change. To filter out bot-generated content, data from users posting excessively (more than 20 times daily) was excluded.
The study indicated that 14.8 percent of the U.S. population disputes the warming of the Earth, with higher concentrations of climate denial observed in the central and southern regions of the country. This sentiment was notably associated with Republican voters and states heavily reliant on fossil fuels for energy.
Furthermore, climate denial exhibited a weak correlation with communities boasting high Covid-19 vaccination rates, suggesting a potential link between rejecting basic climate science and other forms of scientific skepticism.
Echo chambers with contrasting climate perspectives displayed minimal interaction and low rates of reposting or quoting content from communities holding opposing views, posing challenges for scientists seeking to engage with social media users of differing opinions.
Despite the study’s insights, the authors emphasized the need for tailored strategies to combat misinformation by pinpointing communities—whether defined by geography, politics, or other characteristics—that are more inclined to reject climate science.
Certain limitations were acknowledged, including fewer X posts from regions with smaller populations, potentially skewing the data, and the exclusion of individuals with neutral or undecided views on climate change due to the language model’s binary classification of posts.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.
