Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks
This study explores how European think tanks with obstructive positions on climate policy use the social network X to advance their agendas. The aim is to understand their digital communication strategies, the issues they address, the use of hyperlinks, and the impact on interaction and online polar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1470343/full |
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| author | Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas Elizabet Castillero-Ostio Álvaro Serna-Ortega |
| author_facet | Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas Elizabet Castillero-Ostio Álvaro Serna-Ortega |
| author_sort | Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study explores how European think tanks with obstructive positions on climate policy use the social network X to advance their agendas. The aim is to understand their digital communication strategies, the issues they address, the use of hyperlinks, and the impact on interaction and online polarization. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on tweets from twelve organizations known for opposing climate policies. Out of an initial 96,607 tweets, 803 relevant messages were selected to evaluate thematic content and interaction reach. The analysis identified five dominant thematic areas in the tweets: economic impacts of climate policy, ideological perspectives, questioning of official science, proposed technological solutions, and other messages. The higher levels of interaction were generated by messages with a political or ideological focus and those proposing technological solutions. In addition, most hyperlinks directed users to the think tanks' own websites rather than to external sources. European anti-climate change think tanks use social network X to promote their agendas through ideological and technical messages that generate high engagement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a49935c79fc84b338f9d6530b71fc36d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2297-900X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Communication |
| spelling | doaj-art-a49935c79fc84b338f9d6530b71fc36d2024-11-27T14:57:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Communication2297-900X2024-10-01910.3389/fcomm.2024.14703431470343Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanksAndrea Moreno-CabanillasElizabet Castillero-OstioÁlvaro Serna-OrtegaThis study explores how European think tanks with obstructive positions on climate policy use the social network X to advance their agendas. The aim is to understand their digital communication strategies, the issues they address, the use of hyperlinks, and the impact on interaction and online polarization. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on tweets from twelve organizations known for opposing climate policies. Out of an initial 96,607 tweets, 803 relevant messages were selected to evaluate thematic content and interaction reach. The analysis identified five dominant thematic areas in the tweets: economic impacts of climate policy, ideological perspectives, questioning of official science, proposed technological solutions, and other messages. The higher levels of interaction were generated by messages with a political or ideological focus and those proposing technological solutions. In addition, most hyperlinks directed users to the think tanks' own websites rather than to external sources. European anti-climate change think tanks use social network X to promote their agendas through ideological and technical messages that generate high engagement.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1470343/fullclimate changeclimate obstructionismskepticismdisinformationthink tanksdigital communication |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas Elizabet Castillero-Ostio Álvaro Serna-Ortega Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks Frontiers in Communication climate change climate obstructionism skepticism disinformation think tanks digital communication |
| title | Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks |
| title_full | Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks |
| title_fullStr | Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks |
| title_short | Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks |
| title_sort | digital disinformation strategies of european climate change obstructionist think tanks |
| topic | climate change climate obstructionism skepticism disinformation think tanks digital communication |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1470343/full |
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