{"id":263708,"date":"2023-06-24T19:55:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T17:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=263708"},"modified":"2023-06-24T19:55:38","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T17:55:38","slug":"media-bias-and-climate-change-the-art-of-public-manipulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=263708","title":{"rendered":"Media Bias and Climate Change: The Art of Public Manipulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the latest paper decrying that we just can\u2019t get the peons to do what we want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0959378023000419?via%3Dihub<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The environmentalist narrative has become a staple of mainstream media coverage in recent years. From reports of melting glaciers to claims of record-breaking temperatures, it seems we cannot go a day without hearing about the impending doom that is climate change. But is this narrative being pushed upon us for our benefit, or is it a tool to manipulate public sentiment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent study by the University of Lausanne, screen capped above, points towards the latter,<\/a> It reveals insights about media coverage of climate change and its effect on public behavior. The researchers analyzed around 50,000 scientific publications on climate change from 2020 and found a noticeable bias towards natural sciences. The study suggests that the media tend to focus on large-scale, future climate projections and a narrow selection of threats, such as melting glaciers and polar bears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the researchers found that these types of narratives do not inspire pro-environmental behaviors. Instead, they often provoke push back and avoidance, leading to a lack of engagement in climate action. This doesn\u2019t come as a surprise to those who\u2019ve observed the media\u2019s tendency to lean towards sensationalism in their coverage of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors of the study, Fabrizio Butera and Marie-Elodie Perga, propose a solution-oriented approach to climate change communication. However, this proposition appears to be just another tactic to manipulate public sentiment and coerce compliance with the authors\u2019 policy preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Butera explains, fear can lead to behavioral change, but only if the problem presented is accompanied by solutions. This statement implies an interest in the strategic use of fear as a tool to drive action. If the public is sufficiently scared and presented with a solution that aligns with the author\u2019s policy preferences, they are more likely to comply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study reveals more about the methods of manipulation at play in the climate change narrative than it does about climate change itself. It\u2019s clear that the focus is on influencing public behavior rather than informing the public in an objective, balanced way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s missing in this study and in the broader climate change debate is the presentation of diverse perspectives, including those skeptical of the prevailing catastrophic narrative. Climate change is an intricate issue with scientific uncertainties and wide-ranging viewpoints, all of which should be fairly represented to ensure public understanding. The media, and those in control of it, should promote critical thinking, not fear-mongering and one-sided narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, critical thinking and healthy skepticism are essential tools in navigating the complex world of media influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The authors of the study, Fabrizio Butera and Marie-Elodie Perga, propose a solution-oriented approach to climate change communication. However, this proposition appears to be just another tactic to manipulate public sentiment and coerce compliance with the authors\u2019 policy preferences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":263714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691820111,691820464,691820463],"class_list":{"0":"post-263708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-mainstream-media","10":"tag-manipulation","11":"tag-scientific-publications","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0climate-bias.jpg?fit=1007%2C758&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-16Bm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":231890,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=231890","url_meta":{"origin":263708,"position":0},"title":"Laurence Fox: The Top FIVE Climate Change LIES","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/12\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Laurence Fox breaks apart the lies repeatedly fed to the public and details the manipulation by the billionaire-funded lobby groups and activists,\u00a0says Climate Change Dispatch.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/00Screenshot-2022-12-01-115858.png?fit=896%2C503&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/00Screenshot-2022-12-01-115858.png?fit=896%2C503&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/00Screenshot-2022-12-01-115858.png?fit=896%2C503&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/00Screenshot-2022-12-01-115858.png?fit=896%2C503&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":266601,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=266601","url_meta":{"origin":263708,"position":1},"title":"Turn the Fearmongering Up to Eleven. It\u2019s Working.","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/07\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I hope readers aren\u2019t getting tired of me calling out all these banal studies whose goal is to get those to use manipulation rather than debate and discussion in order to achieve their policy goals.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-287.png?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-287.png?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-287.png?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-287.png?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-287.png?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":227073,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=227073","url_meta":{"origin":263708,"position":2},"title":"The climate change cult and the war on the mind \u2013 3","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/11\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I examine a group using their expertise in the field of psychology to nudge the population into believing their world view of climate-induced doom.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0APOCALYPSE-DREAM-MEANING.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0APOCALYPSE-DREAM-MEANING.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0APOCALYPSE-DREAM-MEANING.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0APOCALYPSE-DREAM-MEANING.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0APOCALYPSE-DREAM-MEANING.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":204566,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=204566","url_meta":{"origin":263708,"position":3},"title":"Climate Propaganda Award Winners","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/06\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest Opinion by Kip Hansen \u2013 16 June 2022 The Columbia Journalism Review\u00a0(CJR) at\u00a0Columbia University\u00a0\u00a0which supports the \u00a0climate propaganda organ,\u00a0Covering Climate Now\u00a0(CCNow), has announced its\u00a0Bizarro World-based \u201c2022\u00a0Covering Climate Now\u00a0Journalism Award\u201d.\u00a0 Of course, calling it a \u201cjournalism award\u201d is oxymoronic \u2013 what these people produce is the opposite of journalism, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/00Screenshot-2022-06-16-111007.png?fit=838%2C417&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/00Screenshot-2022-06-16-111007.png?fit=838%2C417&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/00Screenshot-2022-06-16-111007.png?fit=838%2C417&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/00Screenshot-2022-06-16-111007.png?fit=838%2C417&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":268529,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268529","url_meta":{"origin":263708,"position":4},"title":"Europe\u2019s \u201c48\u00b0C Horror That Never Was\u201d\u2026ESA, Media Sharply Criticized For Manipulative Reporting","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/07\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe most intense climate lie\u201d: Last week it was all over the news: Temperatures in southern Europe skyrocketing to 48\u00b0C! But none of it was true.","rel":"","context":"In \"air temperature\"","block_context":{"text":"air temperature","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=air-temperature"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/OIG-5-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/OIG-5-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/OIG-5-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/OIG-5-1.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":425839,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=425839","url_meta":{"origin":263708,"position":5},"title":"When It Comes to Climate and Energy, Let\u2019s Retire the Politics of Fear","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In the latest example of the scare tactics favored by climate change alarmists, it was announced last month that 2025 \u201cwas the third-warmest in modern history, according to Copernicus, the European Union\u2019s climate change monitoring service,\u201d as reported by NBC News.","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden Admin\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden Admin","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-admin"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQOF_ohQZXY98nJIOi91TiAO7Fg1OeqhNh4VT631Ocx8Jp-rOKuLn5BQ6pI2UjW8nAT6qmom_gCpspDR9v32L1RL86hiRhMilI9H-GzKbPpxNrLOgd48VisOMgS0Tdgh.jpeg?fit=1026%2C941&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQOF_ohQZXY98nJIOi91TiAO7Fg1OeqhNh4VT631Ocx8Jp-rOKuLn5BQ6pI2UjW8nAT6qmom_gCpspDR9v32L1RL86hiRhMilI9H-GzKbPpxNrLOgd48VisOMgS0Tdgh.jpeg?fit=1026%2C941&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQOF_ohQZXY98nJIOi91TiAO7Fg1OeqhNh4VT631Ocx8Jp-rOKuLn5BQ6pI2UjW8nAT6qmom_gCpspDR9v32L1RL86hiRhMilI9H-GzKbPpxNrLOgd48VisOMgS0Tdgh.jpeg?fit=1026%2C941&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQOF_ohQZXY98nJIOi91TiAO7Fg1OeqhNh4VT631Ocx8Jp-rOKuLn5BQ6pI2UjW8nAT6qmom_gCpspDR9v32L1RL86hiRhMilI9H-GzKbPpxNrLOgd48VisOMgS0Tdgh.jpeg?fit=1026%2C941&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=263708"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263716,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263708\/revisions\/263716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/263714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=263708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=263708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=263708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}