Process skeptical populist framing of climate change in right-leaning media

Bibliographic Data

ID4328352
AuthorsJanel Jett (0000-0002-0484-2948, University of Missouri, corresponding author), Leigh Raymond (0000-0003-4455-7583, University of Vermont), Erin P Hennes (0000-0002-6897-3541, University of Missouri)
Year2024
Volume33
Issue5
Pages799-819
Publication date2024-07-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0964-4016 • E-ISSN: 1743-8934
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09644016.2023.2293433
OpenAlexW4390205423
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited61

Scholars have noted the compatibility of right-wing populism—centering on belief in an antagonistic relationship between ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’ – with climate change skepticism. In this paper, we examine process skepticism, a type of criticism that we argue is especially well-aligned with populism. Process skepticism focuses not on denying evidence of climate change (evidence skepticism) nor on critiquing policy responses (response skepticism), but on directly attacking the scientific and political processes underlying climate science and policy decision-making. We examine the prevalence of populist ideas in climate skeptical frames disseminated in U.S. media between 2008 and 2020. As expected, we find robust evidence of populist skepticism, particularly in far-right outlets. More importantly, the majority of populist messages were process skeptical in nature. The emergence of process skeptical populist frames may critically impede climate policy efforts by promoting distrust that is especially resistant to increasing scientific evidence or policy advancements

Climate change · Countermovement · Criticism · Distrust · Economics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Geography · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Positive economics · Skepticism · Sociology · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Philosophy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Media and Politics

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