Presumed Effects of “Fake News” on the Global Warming Discussion in a Cross-Cultural Context.

From Digital Culture & Society

Hong, S. C. (2020). Presumed Effects of “Fake News” on the Global Warming Discussion in a Cross-Cultural Context. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 12(5), 2123-. https://ocul-bu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_BU/p5aakr/cdi_crossref_primary_10_3390_su12052123 https://doi.org/10.3390/su12052123

Contents 1 Context 2 Overview 3 Strengths and Weaknesses 4 Assessment

[edit] Context

The effect of "fake news" on global warming is discussed in this article, with a focus on how partisan (supporter of a cause, party, or person) and social media spread it. The study, which is based on 770 responses from four nations, focuses on the importance of cultural constructs—individualism, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance, and examines how these characteristics affect public perceptions of the media's impact on climate change. The results show that attitudes about the influence of the media are shaped by individualism and collectivism, which influences both remedial (like donating money) and preventative (like supporting regulations on fake news). The study highlights how crucial cultural factors are to comprehending how people react to false information about climate change and guides public involvement and policy actions.

[edit] Overview

This study explores the impact of fake news on public perceptions of climate change and how it undermines journalistic integrity, democracy, and government. Finding a third-person perspective on bogus news about global warming is crucial to the inquiry, which focuses on cultural effects including individualism (IND), collectivism (COL), and uncertainty avoidance (UA). Using route analysis, the study finds that while collectivism and uncertainty avoidance support regulatory behaviours, individualism is correlated with third-person perception. Importantly, the study emphasizes that the assumed media effect on others turns out to be a stronger predictor, indicating that the third-person impression does not always translate into remedial activities. In the context of fake news, especially about climate change, it is essential to comprehend cultural variances and the complex interaction between media effects, third-person perception, and remedial actions.

[edit] Strengths and Weaknesses

With a cross-cultural viewpoint covering the US, Spain, India, and Korea, the article shows noteworthy qualities in studying the third-person perception of fake news on global warming. The study's novel methodology, which makes use of cultural characteristics including uncertainty avoidance (UA), collectivism (COL), and individuality (IND), offers a sophisticated understanding of how these elements affect how media effects are perceived. The analysis gains depth from the consideration of remedial measures and the differentiation between assumed media effects on oneself and others. The finding of cultural influences on regulatory behaviours—collectivism and uncertainty avoidance in particular—represents a significant strength. The study's non-dichotomous treatment of individualism and collectivism, which departs from accepted frameworks such as Hofstede's cultural aspects, is one of its major weaknesses. The lack of a common cultural measurement among the nations questioned casts doubt on the comparability of the findings. Furthermore, although the paper effectively examines the third-person perspective, it is unable to offer a thorough explanation of how this perception relates to real behavioural consequences. Although the study admits this restriction, it does not provide a thorough examination of the behavioural aspect of third-person perception, which leaves a gap in our knowledge of how these impressions manifest in actual behaviour. To provide a more thorough review, future studies could benefit from resolving these constraints. The study's inconsistent measurement methodology across nations may make it more difficult to generalize the results. It is difficult to paint a clear picture of cultural differences when different approaches are used for each country. When comparing different cultures, this decision adds uncertainty and may make it challenging to be truly certain about the study's conclusions.

[edit] Assessment

This article explores how fake news affects how people perceive climate change in various cultural contexts, emphasizing the phenomena of third-person perception. Its examination of cultural concepts like individualism and collectivism, which offers insights into how these elements affect people's perceptions and behaviours, is one of its most noteworthy strengths. Nonetheless, a notable limitation stems from the lack of a uniform cultural assessment, which could potentially restrict the applicability of the results. The study gains depth from the thorough examination of remedial measures and the focus on the potential negative impacts of media coverage on others. This paper may be useful for scholars examining the relationship between media effects, cultural factors, and perceptions of climate change, notwithstanding methodological issues. The insights could be useful for policymakers who want to combat disinformation about climate change. However, because of the methodological limitations, care must be taken when extrapolating these findings. Overall, this paper advances our knowledge of cross-cultural dynamics in the context of attitudes toward climate change, but its shortcomings should also be considered.

Ar19qn 15:15, 1 December 2023 (EST)