Mapping the climate sceptical blogosphere

• Published in: Global environmental change 2014-05, Vol.26, p.159-170
• Main Author: Sharman, Amelia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applications; Applications (e.g. Digitizing,...); Blog; Climate scepticism; Communication; Exact sciences and technology; Information and communication sciences; Information and communication technologies; Information science. Documentation; Information technologies: storage media, equipment; Internet resources (portals, blogs, wikis,...); Knowledge; Miscellaneous; Network; Sciences and techniques of general use; Social network analysis; Sociology of information and communication
• ISSN: 0959-3780; 1872-9495
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.03.003

•The climate sceptical blogosphere is identified as a network of 171 blogs.•An overt science framing appears to contribute to the most central blogs’ positions.•The most central blogs may be seen as key nodes in an alternative knowledge network.•They are alternative public sites of expertise for a climate sceptical audience. While mainstream scientific knowledge production has been extensively examined in the academic literature, comparatively little is known about alternative networks of scientific knowledge production. Online sources such as blogs are an especially under-investigated site of knowledge contestation. Using degree centrality and node betweenness tests from social network analysis, and thematic content analysis of individual posts, this research identifies and critically examines the climate sceptical blogosphere and investigates whether a focus on particular themes contributes to the positioning of the most central blogs. A network of 171 individual blogs is identified, with three blogs in particular found to be the most central: Climate Audit, JoNova and Watts Up With That. These blogs predominantly focus on the scientific element of the climate debate, providing either a direct scientifically-based challenge to mainstream climate science, or a critique of the conduct of the climate science system. This overt scientific framing, as opposed to explicitly highlighting differences in values, politics, or ideological worldview, appears to be an important contributory factor in the positioning of the most central blogs. It is suggested that these central blogs are key protagonists in a process of attempted expert knowledge de-legitimisation and contestation, acting not only as translators between scientific research and lay audiences, but, in their reinterpretation of existing climate science knowledge claims, are acting themselves as alternative public sites of expertise for a climate sceptical audience.