According to a new study, media coverage about climate change can influence Americans’ beliefs, but it doesn’t last long.
After reading accurate articles on climate change, Americans might see it as a problem that affects them more and be inclined to support the government’s policies.
Thomas Wood, an associate professor of political sciences at The Ohio State University and one of the study’s co-authors, stated that “it is not true that the American public doesn’t respond to scientifically informed journalism when it is presented to them.”
However, these changes can be quickly reversed if participants are exposed to articles doubting climate change.
Wood conducted a four-part study with Brendan Nyhan, professor at Dartmouth College, and Ethan Porter, professor at George Washington University.
Participants were then given an accurate science article on climate change. The group was asked whether they believed climate change is real and if so, if the government should act.
Wood stated that science reporting did more than just change people’s factsual understanding. It also influenced their political preferences. “It convinced them that climate change was an urgent concern and that they should be doing more to address it.”
Participants were offered “either another scientific article or an opinion article that was skeptical about climate science, or an article that discusses the partisan debate on climate change,” OSU stated on its website.
Participants changed their attitude towards climate change when they read articles skeptically.
“What we discovered suggests that people need to be exposed to the same exact messages about climate change over and over again,” Wood said. Wood stated that if they hear it only once, it disappears very quickly.” Wood said that this creates a new challenge: “The news media wasn’t designed that way.”
The world’s water, air, and land mass have been affected by climate change. According to NASA, the Arctic Sea Ice has declined 13% each decade since 1971. The sea level has increased 4 inches since 1993. Ocean temperatures are at their highest in 20 years. This can lead to coral bleaching, changes to ocean biochemistry, and stronger hurricanes.
