Social Noise on Social Media and Users Perception of Global Warming

Abstract

Global warming refers to the long-term heating of the earth, including melting of the glaciers and the expected rise in seawater level that could threaten a large number of areas and communities around the world. Social media has a big influence on people’s perception and understanding of environmental issues and challenges. In this study, we examine the impact of misinformation and social noise on people’s perception of global warming during critical environmental events. The study used data analytic techniques such as sentiment analysis and topic modelling to assess the level of objectivity and subjectivity in the discussion about global warming and examine the presence of certain topics that fit the definition of social noise and misinformation. Data collection was limited to the hashtag “global warming” captured during the months there was a spike in global warming tweets during the period from 2012-2022. The results from the sentiment analysis have shown a 62.46% subjectivity score compared to 37.54% objectivity score, indicating that most of the tweets posted were based on users’ personal opinion and perception of global warming. Topic modelling showed a prevalence of social noise in the tweets indicating the presence of social noise and thus aids in understanding the factors that lead to misinformation creation. The presence of social noise questions the credibility of the tweets and its contents.