Presumed Effects of “Fake News” on the Global Warming Discussion in a Cross-Cultural Context

Seong Choul Hong

doi:10.3390/su12052123

Abstract

“Fake news” on global warming is widely disseminated via social and partisan media. Scientists worry about its effect, because fake news may hurt public support and change policy on climate change. The current study tested the roles of cultural constructs (individualism, collectivism, and uncertainty-avoidance) in predicting the presumed effect of fake news on global warming. Based on 770 answers in four countries, the study found that individualism and collectivism influenced the presumed media effect on others and the third-person effect (self-other disparity of media effect). Moreover, the presumed media effect contributed to both preventive actions such as support for regulation on fake news and corrective actions such as a willingness to donate money. Likewise, the study found that collectivism positively predicted a willingness to donate money, while uncertainty-avoidance predicted support for regulation.

Highlights

The controversy on global warming is enough to raise questions about our capacity of scientific knowledge [1]
Based on different levels of cultural constructs: individualism (IND), collectivism (COL), and uncertainty-avoidance (UA), this study explores the relationship between third person perception and related behaviors
This study proposes the following research hypotheses: Hypothesis 1 (H1) —People may have a tendency to overestimate the effect of fake news on others than on self or underestimate the effect on self than on others

Summary

Introduction

The controversy on global warming is enough to raise questions about our capacity of scientific knowledge [1]. Despite most scientists’ recognition of man-made climate change, there are some that argue against its importance. Like U.S President Trump, further fuel the debate by asserting that increased global temperatures are a natural climate shift and not caused by greenhouse gases [2,3]. Mass media and social media platforms have become tools to disseminate fake news with climate change skepticism [4]. The media’s skepticism about global warming may change perceptions, beliefs, and behavior or reinforce existing knowledge [5]. The spread of fake news on global warming may eventually hurt public support for climate policy [6]

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Conclusion