Inoculation - a way to protect youth from climate change myths?
Every day, an unmanageable flood of information bursts upon us - never before has it been so easy to share content, views and attitudes with a multitude of people. As diverse as the channels are, the quality of the information we receive via them also varies.
Misinformation, so-called "fake news," and denial strategies based on supposed research results contribute to the rejection of scientifically based findings and to reduced trust in science, especially in social media when dealing with complex topics. Targeted disinformation campaigns on the causes of climate change, for example, create uncertainty and pose a challenge to the population, but also to young people in particular: How can misleading messages on climate change be distinguished from scientifically based ones?
Inoculation theory
Claudia Haagen-Schützenhöfer (Department of Physics Didactics at the University of Graz) and Thomas Schubatzky (University of Innsbruck), who recieved his PhD at the Department of Physics Didactics in Graz and now holds a professorship at the University of Innsbruck, take up this challenge in their research. They show how inoculation theory can be used to make young people more "resistant" to misinformation about anthropogenic climate change. "On the one hand, it is important that students understand basic concepts in physics related to climate change. On the other hand, it is essential that students are familiar with the common argumentation strategies that are often used by climate change skeptics, so that they do not fall for them," explains Claudia Haagen-Schützenhöfer and explains that young people need to know about manipulative representations of information in order to recognize the mechanisms and be able to counter them. Inoculation theory is an effective approach here. The inoculation theory developed by McGuire in the 1960s pursues the basic idea that individuals can be armed against disinformation, similar to how they can be immunized against a virus.
Study
In the 2020 study conducted by Thomas Schubatzky and Claudia Haagen-Schützenhöfer, some of the more than 1,000 young people studied (ages 14 to 19) were presented with misleading claims about climate change in addition to the facts. The so-called "Oregon Petition", a disinformation campaign from the USA, was used. This is a classic example of a disinformation campaign that uses the "fake experts" method, for example. The aim of the campaign was to confuse the public about findings of climate science and the scientific consensus on man-made global warming. The petition, which was signed 31,000 times, was supported by supposed climate experts who deny the existence of man-made climate change. A closer analysis shows, however, that scientists with relevant expertise were only represented in a very small range. However, many supporters signed the petition multiple times and even made joke entries, such as the Spice Girls, Charles Darwin (1882 deceased) or characters from Star Wars were among the signers.
The results of the study, conducted by Schubatzky and Haagen-Schützenhöfer, show the effectiveness of inoculation strategies against climate change myths for adolescents. For adults, similar studies were presented by researchers in Cambridge. For example, they showed that adolescents are susceptible to misinformation aimed at the scientific consensus on climate change, even when they have correct information. However, it is possible to protect adolescents preventively from such misinformation through inoculation. Moreover, inoculation led not only to an increase in adolescents' consensus views, but also to an increase in their belief that their views were correct.
Further links
Article GDCP Conference Proceedings Essen 2007 (uni-graz.at)
Ingrid Brodnig: What works against climate change myths (profil.at)
Inoculating Adolescents Against Climate Change Misinformation | SpringerLink
