Internet Memes, Media Frames, and the Conflicting Logics of Climate Change Discourse

Ross, Andrew S.; Rivers, Damian J.

doi:10.1080/17524032.2018.1560347

Cited by 83 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Humor, however, can be highly beneficial when executed effectively in the right contexts. In reviewing the literature on humor and climate change, Kaltenbacher and Drews (2020) found that humor can raise awareness such as through cartoons, and memes (Ross & Rivers, 2019); help audiences psychologically cope and deal with negative emotions (Murthy & Gross, 2017); foster greater involvement (Anderson & Becker, 2018); influence perceptions and beliefs (Brewer & McKnight, 2017); help audiences overcome awkward or taboo risk issues (Browne, 2016); function as a learning vehicle (Boykoff & Osnes, 2019); and influence positive behavior changes (Skurka et al, 2018). While research seeking to capitalize on the risk-as-feelings literature continues to show promise, empirically tested risk communication applications remain in the nascent stages of development.…”

Section: Message Attributesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolving Field of Risk Communication

2020

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The 40th Anniversary of the Society for Risk Analysis presents an apt time to step back and review the field of risk communication. In this review, we first evaluate recent debates over the field's current state and future directions. Our takeaway is that efforts to settle on a single, generic version of what constitutes risk communication will be less productive than an openminded exploration of the multiple forms that comprise today's vibrant interdisciplinary field. We then review a selection of prominent cognitive, cultural, and social risk communication scholarship appearing in the published literature since 2010. Studies on trust in risk communication messengers continued to figure prominently, while new research directions emerged on the opportunities and critical challenges of enhancing transparency and using social media. Research on message attributes explored how conceptual insights particularly relating to framing, affective and emotional responses, and uncertainty might be operationalized to improve message effectiveness. Studies consistently demonstrated the importance of evaluation and how varying single attributes alone is unlikely to achieve desired results. Research on risk communication audiences advanced on risk perception and multiway engagement with notable interest in personal factors such as gender, race, age, and political orientation. We conclude by arguing that the field's interdisciplinary tradition should be further nurtured to drive the next evolutionary phase of risk communication research.

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Section: Message Attributesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolving Field of Risk Communication

2020

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“…Los memes, como categorías similares a los virus (Shifman, 2013) se difunden a través de los medios sociales o portales dedicados para ganar visibilidad y promover a sus creadores (Denisova, 2019), e inculcar ideas específicas en la mente del receptor. También pueden ser modificados por los receptores, que de esta forma apoyan o se oponen al argumento presentado (Ross & Rivers, 2019), ya que los encuadres no tienen un impacto universal y en algunos casos necesitan ser aclarados. La capacidad de intercambio de tareas entre el creador del meme y el receptor indica el papel activo del público en la creación de contenido mediático y el discurso público.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Internet memes in Covid-19 lockdown times in Poland

Norstrom¹,

Sarna²

2021

Comunicar: Media Education Research Journal

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Poland was one of the countries that was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and its government imposed restrictions to combat the spreading of the virus. The Internet and social media became outlets for people’s reactions to the events that unfolded, including the lockdown. A part of this reaction came in the form of creating and sharing memes – an expression of digital participatory culture. This paper aims to analyze how Covid-19 was communicated and narrated through Internet memes and how they presented the pandemic and actors responsible for fighting it. 1,763 memes from six media platforms were analyzed using content analysis with framing elements and a comparative narrative analysis. The results show that the memes provided a form of commentary on the situation experienced by Poles. The most common category of memes was “bans and orders”, involving restrictions that were often criticized and ridiculed as pointless. The main characters within the memes were ordinary citizens, often portrayed in a comedic way as careless in regards to the virus and violating the restrictions. They were also presented as victims of the police and the government. Furthermore, the people responsible for fighting the pandemic were portrayed as incompetent and imposing needlessly severe restrictions and penalties for not abiding by them. Polonia fue uno de los países golpeados por la pandemia del Covid-19 en 2020, cuyo gobierno impuso restricciones para combatir la propagación del virus. Internet y las redes sociales se convirtieron en un escape para las reacciones de las personas a estos eventos, incluido el confinamiento. Una parte de esta reacción vino en forma de creación y difusión de memes, una expresión de la cultura digital y participativa. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo analizar cómo el Covid-19 fue comunicado y narrado a través de los memes en Internet y cómo fue presentada la pandemia y los responsables de combatirla. Fueron analizados 1.763 memes de seis medios empleando un análisis de contenidos con elementos de enmarque y análisis comparativo narrativo. Los resultados muestran que los memes fueron una forma de expresión sobre la situación vivida por los polacos. La categoría más popular fue la de «prohibiciones y órdenes», aludiendo a las restricciones que frecuentemente fueron criticadas y ridiculizadas como inútiles. El personaje principal de los memes fueron los ciudadanos, frecuentemente retratados de una manera cómica como personas irresponsables en cuanto al virus y violaciones de las restricciones. También fueron presentados como víctimas de la policía y el gobierno. Además, las personas responsables de combatir la pandemia fueron retratadas como incompetentes, al imponer restricciones y sanciones excesivamente estrictas por no obedecerlas.

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“…Although in Phoenix people were more likely to react with or express feelings of frustration about the heat, they often conveyed a related sense of pride, solidarity, and community membership in their ability to withstand it. Such sentiments were particularly pronounced in the memes posted by the public which, research has shown, can contain powerful messages of community norms and expectations (Ross and Rivers, 2019;Dancygier, 2017;Kahan, 2017). Simply cautioning a public that prides itself on withstanding the dangers of heat therefore may not work to convince people that they are truly at risk and should adopt behavioral changes to keep themselves safe.…”

Section: Heat As a Marker Of Community Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying community values related to heat: recommendations for forecast and health risk communication

Lambrecht

Hatchett

VanderMolen

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Effective communication of heat risk to public audiences is critical to promoting behavioral changes that reduce susceptibility to heat-related illness. The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) provides heat-related information to the public using social media platforms such as Facebook. We applied a novel rhetorical framework to evaluate five years (2015–2019) of public responses to NWS heat-related Facebook posts for the Phoenix (Arizona) County Warning Area, one of the hottest regions in North America and the tenth largest metropolitan area in the U.S., to identify “commonplaces” or community norms, beliefs, and values that may present challenges to the effectiveness of heat risk communication. We found two key commonplaces: 1) the normalization of heat, and 2) heat as a marker of community identify. These commonplaces imply that local audiences may be resistant to behavioral change, but they can also be harnessed in an effort to promote protective action. We also found that public responses to NWS posts declined over the heat season, further suggesting the normalization of heat and highlighting the need to maintain engagement. This work provides a readily generalizable framework for other messengers of high-impact weather events to improve the effectiveness of their communication with receiver audiences.

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Internet Memes, Media Frames, and the Conflicting Logics of Climate Change Discourse

Cited by 83 publications

References 35 publications

The Evolving Field of Risk Communication

The Evolving Field of Risk Communication

Internet memes in Covid-19 lockdown times in Poland

Identifying community values related to heat: recommendations for forecast and health risk communication

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