How do people engage with climate change news?
A global study found that the main news sources for climate news sometimes varied according to the consumer’s age. For example, whilst major news organizations were a popular choice, under 35s were almost twice as likely to use celebrities, social media personalities, and activists as their go-to source of information compared to those aged 35 or above. Social networks have substantial clout in engaging audiences with climate issues, with around 30 to 40 percent of social media users worldwide citing climate news as a key topic for them.Greta Thunberg’s follower count on X (formerly Twitter) continues to grow at close to six million, and a number of other climate activists around the world also continue to make waves on their respective platforms. From Jamaican/British activist Mikaela Loach (author of “It’s Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World”) to Ugandan activist Edwin Namakanga, whose work with The Rise Up Movement focuses on giving voices to African activists, social media is often the main way in which information about climate change, climate action, and climate justice is disseminated by those who work in the field. At a time where news fatigue is on the rise, consumers need to feel they can rely on the information they are receiving, and in some countries, environmental activists outrank the news media, government, and official institutions like the UN in terms of the level of trust in climate news.
Climate news is not immune to news avoidance
More than a third of adults aged under 45 years in the United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Germany actively avoid climate change news, and in India the share who did so was as high as 43 percent. Consumers’ reasons for avoiding climate news are many, and include lack of trust, fatigue with the amount of news on the subject, a negative impact on the consumer’s mood, and feeling that there is nothing that can be done with the information. Audiences are growing frustrated with climate coverage and cite the lack of solution-focused news as one of their main barriers to reading about climate change.To tackle news avoidance, publishers are working to provide explanatory journalism and constructive news their audiences can use, and climate change coverage could benefit from this approach in order to keep the public informed and engaged.
