Radical Activism in the Misinformation Age - How can Social Movements Counter the Circulation of Online False Information About Climate Change?
type: CreativeWork
description: Over the past several years, online disinformation and misinformation concerning climate change have gained substantive attention within the scientific community. However, while the dynamics that drive the circulation of false online information have been analysed extensively, it remains unclear whether (and how) this phenomenon can be counteracted. This research project analyses the emerging role of bottom-up mobilisations as a form of noise-reduction, thereby examining how social movements may deploy peer-produced communication narra- tives to counteract the circulation of online disinformation and misinformation relating to climate change. To investigate this communication dynamic, this research applies techniques from computational social sciences to an original dataset of ≈ 250k Facebook posts produced by two movements that best embody this novel and innovative generation of radical envi- ronmental activism: Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future. The central thesis of this project forwards two original contributions to the fields of climate change communication and social movement studies. First, it analyses the emergence of a new generation of radical climate change movements and the significance of this new development in climate activism (Chapter II). Second, it offers interdisciplinary empirical evidence on how radical climate movements can act as a bottom-up force for what I term ‘epistemic activism’. It presents a theoretical framework where activist-led, peer-produced communication can provide a coun- tering force to both vertical disinformation and horizontal misinformation. It quantitatively analyses two channels through which these forms of false information can be opposed. For reducing vertical disinformation, this work assesses the use of naming and shaming against information polluters (Chapter III), while for horizontal misinformation, it evaluates the dissemination of scientific counter-narratives (Chapter IV). Ultimately, this thesis shows…
abstract: Over the past several years, online disinformation and misinformation concerning climate change have gained substantive attention within the scientific community. However, while the dynamics that drive the circulation of false online information have been analysed extensively, it remains unclear whether (and how) this phenomenon can be counteracted. This research project analyses the emerging role of bottom-up mobilisations as a form of noise-reduction, thereby examining how social movements may deploy peer-produced communication narra- tives to counteract the circulation of online disinformation and misinformation relating to climate change. To investigate this communication dynamic, this research applies techniques from computational social sciences to an original dataset of ≈ 250k Facebook posts produced by two movements that best embody this novel and innovative generation of radical envi- ronmental activism: Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future. The central thesis of this project forwards two original contributions to the fields of climate change communication and social movement studies. First, it analyses the emergence of a new generation of radical climate change movements and the significance of this new development in climate activism (Chapter II). Second, it offers interdisciplinary empirical evidence on how radical climate movements can act as a bottom-up force for what I term ‘epistemic activism’. It presents a theoretical framework where activist-led, peer-produced communication can provide a coun- tering force to both vertical disinformation and horizontal misinformation. It quantitatively analyses two channels through which these forms of false information can be opposed. For reducing vertical disinformation, this work assesses the use of naming and shaming against information polluters (Chapter III), while for horizontal misinformation, it evaluates the dissemination of scientific counter-narratives (Chapter IV). Ultimately, this thesis shows…
author: Corsi, Giulio
language: eng
keywords: Climate Change, Social Movements Studies
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2023-08-18
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:31Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.96384