This article was authored by a 3rd party not related to PlanetVoters.com and any opinions or views expressed are not a reflection of PlanetVoters.com.
May 11, 2024
“The climate crisis is a hoax,” “climate action is too costly,” “the climate has already changed in the past”: Misinformation about climate change is everywhere, coming at us from multiple directions.
Fake news circulates online. Political leaders make denier and delayer arguments. Companies with a vested interest in the status quo put out greenwashing and obstructionist messaging, as the May 1 U.S. congressional report about fossil-fuel disinformation underscores.
Misinformation sways minds and confuses the public, which is what climate-obstructing actors like fossil fuel companies want. If you’re confused, you’re less likely to think about their responsibility for the climate crisis and more likely to believe their lies.
“A number of empirical studies have measured a whole bunch of negative effects of climate misinformation. I found that it was polarizing and it reduced climate literacy. Other studies have found that it reduces policy support,” said John Cook, senior research fellow at the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change at the University of Melbourne and founder of Skeptical Science, one of the first websites to fight climate change denial myths.
“It also reduces trust in scientists. It has a chilling effect on scientists, making them even downplay their own results because they’re afraid of being stereotyped as alarmists,” he added.
The good news: There’s a strategy that makes us less susceptible to being misled and manipulated. Researchers call it psychological inoculation. It works like a vaccine.
To read the full article, click here:
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/climate-change-vaccine-cranky-uncle-misinformation
