Climate Change Denial: A Content Analysis of Social Media

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dc.contributor.advisorSmith, Chad L.
dc.contributor.authorBacon, Audra
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHegde, Asha
dc.contributor.committeeMemberPrice, Bob
dc.date.accessioned2020-05-14T19:26:48Z
dc.date.available2020-05-14T19:26:48Z
dc.date.issued2020-05
dc.description.abstractClimate change science is strongly supported within the scientific community, yet there is still much public debate on the topic. However, there have been few analyses of the online discourse around climate change denial. The goal of this research is to evaluate online discussions in order to gain a better understanding of the climate change denial countermovement, to assess public reactions on global climate change deliberations and legislation, and finally, to determine how and if public opinions have changed over time. In order to gather information from social media users who both support and deny climate change, two Facebook pages were used in this study: 1) NASA’s Climate Change; 2) Climate Change LIES. The main findings of this research indicate that denialist explanations cover a lot of topics but are primarily grounded in politics, personal experience, and how one obtains their sources of news information. Arguments over the authenticity of news sources is central in the climate change debate, as seen in this study. Such arguments commonly included offensive language, which allowed for a new discussion of the social implications on these types of interactions.
dc.description.departmentSociology
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent77 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationBacon, A. (2020). <i>Climate change denial: A content analysis of social media</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/9914
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectSociology
dc.subjectClimate change
dc.subjectSocial media
dc.subjectOnline communication
dc.subjectSustainability studies
dc.subjectClimate change denial
dc.subjectClimate change countermovement
dc.subjectOnline echo chambers
dc.subjectPolitical polarization
dc.subjectContent analysis
dc.subject.lcshClimatic changes
dc.subject.lcshGlobal warming--Social aspects
dc.subject.lcshSocial media
dc.titleClimate Change Denial: A Content Analysis of Social Media
dc.typeThesis
thesis.degree.departmentSociology
thesis.degree.disciplineSustainability Studies
thesis.degree.grantorTexas State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science

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