Fact or Fiction? Accuracy and Sharing Trends of Climate Change Headlines on Social Media

• In Event: Truth and Trust: Evolving Judgments, Climate Literacy, and Conversations for Change

Abstract

Many people, students and teachers included, frequently discuss climate change headlines and share these on social media platforms. Amidst the prevalence of both accurate and inaccurate information online, it is crucial to investigate whether people can distinguish the accuracy of posts. This study specifically investigated how individuals differentiated accurate and inaccurate climate change headlines. A total of 273 adult participants evaluated headlines for accuracy and whether they would share them. Findings revealed that participants were better at identifying accurate headlines but struggled with recognizing inaccurate ones. With climate change literacy gaining increased importance as an valued educational outcome to help combat climate change, this study suggests the need for the classroom integration of information literacy to overcome science misinformation.

Authors

• Joshua B. Jaffe, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

• Luke Kim, University of Maryland

• Gale M. Sinatra, University of Southern California

• Doug Lombardi, University of Maryland