Communicating Science and Technology Through Online Video

133

The online video-sharing website YouTube is extremely popular globally, also as a tool for information on science and environmental topics. However, only little is known about what kind of information users find when they are searching for information about climate science, climate change, and climate engineering on YouTube. This contribution presents results from an exploratory research project that investigates whether videos found on YouTube adhere to or challenge scientific consensus views. Ten search terms were employed to search for and analyze 200 videos about climate and climate modification topics, which are contested topics in online media. The online anonymization tool Tor has been used for the randomization of the sample and to avoid personalization of the results. A heuristic qualitative classification tool was set up to categorize the videos in the sample. Eighty-nine videos of the 200 videos in the sample are supporting scientific consensus views about anthropogenic climate change, and climate scientists are discussing climate topics with deniers of climate change in four videos in the sample. Unexpectedly, the majority of the videos in the sample (107 videos) supports worldviews that are opposing scientific consensus views: 16 videos deny anthropogenic climate change and 91 videos in the sample propagate straightforward conspiracy theories about climate engineering and climate change. Videos supporting the scientific mainstream view received only slightly more views (16,941,949 views in total) than those opposing the mainstream scientific position (16,939,655 views in total). Consequences for the public communication of climate change and climate engineering are discussed in the second part of the article. The research presented in this contribution is particularly interested in finding out more about strategically distorted communications about climate change and climate engineering in online environments and in critically analyzing them.

Section: Science and Environmental Communication On Youtubementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science and Environmental Communication on YouTube: Strategically Distorted Communications in Online Videos on Climate Change and Climate Engineering

Allgaier

2019

133

“…Whilst 800 million people use Instagram (Statista, 2018a) and 330 million people use Twitter on a monthly basis (Statista, 2018b). The explosion of digital landscapes has promoted a marked increase in the time allocated to online activity (Brossard, 2013;Andreassen et al, 2017;Marketing Magazin, 2017), and using online sources, including videos, for science information has also increased, particularly amongst 18-25 years olds (Mangold and Faulds, 2009;Bernhardt et al, 2011;Brossard, 2013;IPSOS Mori, 2014;Koohy and Koohy, 2014;Liang et al, 2014;Peters et al, 2014;Hargittai et al, 2018;León and Bourk, 2018;Huber et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Into the Digital Wild: Utilizing Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook for Effective Science and Environmental Communication

Pavelle

Wilkinson

2020

Recent years have seen an upsurge in the digital environment and the reliance placed upon it by society. This case study reports on a project which sought to examine how the digital environment can be utilized for science communication, exploring the role of social media and particularly short online videos, as an effective means through which to engage the public with science, environment and conservation messages. Using as its focus a 300-mile trek around the coast of Cornwall (Sophie's Wild Cornwall) we examine how science was communicated real-time using online videos and social media over a 5-week period, as well as data from an online public opinion survey (n = 129). The observations gleaned identify a number of key themes for others wishing to adopt digital approaches within their science communication activities, including the role of web-based presenter-led narratives, the value of accessibility and interaction on social media platforms, and online videos potential for stimulating proactive, participatory engagement, and interest in an environmental context. Effective online video use requires a balance between crafting an informative yet entertaining narrative without compromising scientific accuracy; yet ultimately, social media platforms may represent a potential "stepping-stone" for practitioners to consider implementing in a journey toward "upstream engagement".

“…In recent years, video has gained increasing importance as a tool to communicate science with publics (León and Bourk, 2018). On YouTube, whose viewership was projected to represent 78.4% of all digital video viewers in 2018 (eMarketer, 2018), several creators of science content have achieved broad popularity.…”

Section: Content Factors Related To Science Video Popularitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Online videos accounted for 75% of all web traffic in 2017, and this is predicted to rise to 82% by 2022 (Cisco, 2018). The tremendous potential of online videos for public communication of science has been widely acknowledged amongst actors in the science community Erviti and Stengler, 2016;León and Bourk, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Good Story Well Told: Storytelling Components That Impact Science Video Popularity on YouTube

Huang

Grant

2020

Storytelling plays a crucial role in science communication, but little research has investigated how it impacts the popularity of science videos. This study examined storytelling components in 306 popular YouTube science videos and revealed significant relationships between video popularity and five storytelling components, namely dramatic question, insight, moments of change, emotional arousal and, status of story. Emotional arousal, in particular, showed a strong association with popularity. The results shed light on the role of storytelling in increasing science video popularity.