Climate Change News Proves More Persuasive Than We Thought

One of the biggest issues we face today is climate change, which requires immediate and efficient measures to reduce its harsh consequences. A significant hurdle to addressing this problem effectively lies in how divisive it can be, mainly due to media influence; individuals tend to favor news sources that match their political ideologies. This bias is particularly pronounced for those skeptical about climate change, making them even more likely to look for data that supports their preexisting opinions.

In this scenario, communication—including on platforms like social media—is essential for connecting people across different political viewpoints. Nevertheless, productive conversations might be hindered when individuals doubt the efficacy of such exchanges.

To tackle this issue, Amir Tohidi—a postdoctoral researcher at the Computational Social Science Lab (CSSLab)—alongside co-authors Stefano Balietti, Samuel Fraiberger, and Anca Balietti, investigate the connection between anticipated and real persuasive power of news articles about climate change in their latest study. paper published in PNAS Nexus .

Initially, the researchers carried out a survey where they gathered participants’ forecasts regarding the impact of several climate change-related articles on persuasion levels. They later contrasted these expectations with real outcomes determined via a randomized trial. The findings revealed a discrepancy between anticipated influence and actual consequences: In reality, such articles notably heightened concerns over climate change amongst skeptics; however, many individuals, particularly those who were already supportive of addressing climate issues, believed these pieces would have little effect.

Scientists conducted an investigation using surveys to examine the connection between anticipated and real persuasive impact of climate change data on individuals who doubt such changes. Over 700 people from varying perspectives regarding climate change—including supporters, those with moderate views, and skeptics—read several pieces focused on climate issues. They then evaluated how these texts could potentially alter the opinions of others depending on whether they were inclined towards supporting, being neutral toward, or opposed to taking action against climate change.

The findings indicated a notable degree of pessimism concerning projected shifts in attitudes. Those skeptical about climate change predicted that their counterparts would grow increasingly steadfast in their doubts upon reading materials emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

In the meantime, supporters and those with moderate views typically believed that such convincing messages would not significantly influence doubters.

In the second phase of the study, the aim was to evaluate how accurately these forecasts held up. This involved selecting 1,000 individuals who doubt climate change at random; half of them read an article about climate change whereas the others perused one covering a different subject altogether. Subsequently, investigators measured shifts in the subjects’ views regarding global warming, their endorsement of actions aimed at combating it, readiness to engage in environmentally friendly practices, as well as contributions toward causes related to climate change.

The findings showed a clear difference between what climate change doubters thought would happen and what actually occurred. Unexpectedly, the controlled trial demonstrated that presenting them with climate data had a considerable positive impact on their views regarding climate change. This effect was larger than anticipated, measuring over 0.2 standard deviations, which is notably large and statistically relevant when contrasted with past efforts aimed at swaying opinions through persuasive techniques.

The changes in perspectives were mainly fueled by an altered perception regarding the immediacy of climate change. Nevertheless, this heightened awareness failed to result in a readiness to endorse climate-related policies, undertake individual actions, or modify habits like giving contributions.

Previous studies have underscored this issue, pointing out the challenges in altering policy backing and practices. However, they also revealed considerable variation: mild skeptics showed notable inclination towards endorsing climate policies, suggesting that skeptics span a range and shouldn’t be seen as one homogenous group.

Pessimism towards skeptics "diminishes engagement efforts and undermines cooperation," says Tohidi. The expectation that these discussions could lead to potential conflicts deters people from engaging in cross-partisan dialog, creating a barrier to collective climate change action. Furthermore, the effectiveness of climate change communication depends on whether skeptics are more responsive to climate messages and more willing to cooperate and take action.

Tackling this issue, this pioneering research examines the connection between an individual’s position on climate change and their perception of how persuasive certain climate change news pieces might be. The study utilizes articles sifted from a comprehensive database comprising 2.6 million English-language articles spanning from 1990 through 2020.

The document underscores the importance of cross-party collaboration and dialogue to advance climate initiatives. It emphasizes the necessity of tackling misunderstandings surrounding the actual circumstances faced by climate skeptics and formulating methods to enhance media literacy to counteract the effects of echo chambers. Despite being more open to transformation than anticipated, the discrepancy between attitudes and behaviors remains an issue, since individual actions play a crucial role in responding effectively to climate change.

More information: Amir Tohidi and colleagues, Discrepancy between anticipated and real perception of climate data. PNAS Nexus (2025). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf084

Furnished by the University of Pennsylvania

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