What is
polarisation?
NASA Climate Change-
Definition:
Misinformation refers to the accidental spread of inaccurate, false information without the intent to deceive or change the public’s opinions.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, misinformation can occur, such as sharing climate statistics or information that has been presented incorrectly by accident, which can affect how people view climate change.
Prevention method:
1. Does the climate information posted on Facebook seem believable? Does it source a reliable climate source?
2. Is the post professional, contains no grammatical errors, and has a professional-looking Facebook account? -
Definition:
Disinformation refers to the intent of spreading false information with the intent to deceive people’s opinions.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, actors involved with spreading disinformation have the intent to share inaccurate or false climate information to spread doubt about climate change and alter public opinions and polarise Facebook users.
Prevention method:
1. Does the climate information posted on Facebook seem believable? Does it source a reliable climate source?
2. Is the climate post on Facebook politically motivated? Does the user have a history of providing false or misleading climate information? -
Definition:
Homogeneous groups refer to people with similar beliefs or opinions.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, the platform actively supports networking and interacting with other people and groups. This means that groups that actively deny climate information reject people with opposing views, ensuring that the group only contains members with similar beliefs.
Prevention method:
1. Do you recognise the news source? Is the source reliable, and does it have a history of sharing accurate climate information in the past?
2. Ask yourself if you see this type of climate content because of the Facebook groups you are involved with that share similar opinions and beliefs. -
Definition:
Polarisation refers to the divide of public opinion, which is considered an opposing group that disagrees with each other.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, users are divided into groups that actively support climate change and other groups that actively deny climate change. These groups can be seen in Facebook groups and comment sections of climate-related posts, where users can be emotionally involved and therefore increase the division between the opposing perspectives.
Prevention method:
1. Is the climate post on Facebook politically motivated? Does the user have a history of providing false or misleading climate information?
2. Is the climate Facebook post designed to divide users? -
Definition:
Homophily refers to where people form connections with others who share similar interests and beliefs to their own.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, the platform encourages users to follow friends and groups that align with the user’s interests. If the user actively denies climate change or is sceptical towards the topic, they will be recommended users who have the same beliefs and interests.
Prevention method:
1. Do you recognise the news source? Is the source reliable, and does it have a history of sharing accurate climate information in the past?
2. Has the post been fact-checked? Have you checked reliable climate sources or researched the claim? -
Definition:
Scepticism refers to the action of doubting or questioning claims or beliefs.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, content that actively denies climate change with the intent of spreading disinformation can be used by sceptics to further spread the idea of creating a false narrative about climate change to spread doubt and create confusion on the platform.
Prevention method:
1. Do you trust the posts shared by friends and family? Is the post a reliable source of climate information?
2. Did you fact-check the climate Facebook post before engaging with the content? -
Definition:
An echo chamber refers to the continuous exposure to content that aligns with the individual’s existing opinions and presents content that aligns with their opinions, while filtering content that conflicts with the individual’s personal interests.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, users can be easily drawn into echo chambers through Facebook’s social network by allowing users to follow pages or engage with content that aligns with their interests. Users who interact with climate misinformation from groups or friends may encourage users to become resistant to accurate climate information, as echo chambers further increase the division of polarisation.
Prevention method:
1. Do you interact with cliamte posts outside beliefs?
2. Do other reputible sources showcase the same climate information from a reliable source? -
Definition:
Filter bubble refers to users actively engaging with content that aligns with their interests. Users can filter the type of content they would like to engage with by liking, sharing and commenting on posts to show their interest.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, the algorithm actively presents the user with climate content that they actively engage with. This means that if a user actively engages with content through liking, sharing, or commenting on content that disagrees with climate change, they will be consistently presented with content on the social feed that reflects their interests. This will increase the spread of false narratives and negative information about climate change on the platform to prioritise content that aligns with the user’s interests.
Prevention method:
1. Do you engage by liking, sharing or commenting with climate sources outside your existing sources?
2. Do you actively seek out other sources of climate information? Do you engage with climate posts on Facebook that are outside your existing sources? -
Definition:
Algorithm bias refers to the algorithm prioritising content that appeals to the user based on the content with which the user actively engages. This can limit the user’s exposure to other conflicting opinions.
How does it spread?
On Facebook, the algorithm will predict what type of content the user will like to watch as the algorithm utilises filter bubbles to make decisions on the type of content that best fits the user’s interests. This means that if a user is sceptical towards climate content and engages with this type of content, the user’s algorithm will predict the type of content the user will want to engage with.
Prevention method:
1. Do you notice that certain posts are more common on your Facebook feed than others?
2. Do you follow reputable climate sources such as NASA, Earthdata and Climate NI to balance out the algorithm suggested content? -
Definition:
Right-wing politician refers to an individual’s political ideologies that focus on tradition and oppose social democracy
How does it spread?
On Facebook, a right-wing individual values the opinions of right-wing politicians who can alter and change the narrative towards the importance of climate change and further spread misinformation and disinformation from climate sources to build a narrative that benefits the politician.
Prevention method:
1. Has the post been fact-checked? Have you checked reliable climate sources or researched the claim?
2. Does the user have a history of providing false or misleading climate information?
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