The Debunking Handbook 2020 summarises the current state of the science of misinformation and its debunking. It was written by a team of 22 prominent scholars of misinformation and its debunking, and it represents the current consensus on the science of debunking for engaged citizens, policymakers, journalists, and other practitioners. The handbook is a consensus document that was created by...
As several decades of awareness-raising and initiatives to engage the public have shown, climate change doesn’t communicate itself. A burgeoning evidence base on the social science of climate change communication now provides many explanations for why engaging on climate change can be challenging. Climate science is filled with uncertainties, a notorious stumbling block for communicating with non-scientists. For some, the...
This handbook provides a brief history of the consensus on climate change. We’ll summarize the research quantifying the level of scientific agreement on human-caused global warming. We’ll examine what the public thinks about the consensus, and the misinformation campaigns that have sought to confuse people. We’ll look at how we should respond to misinformation and how best to communicate the...
This initial briefing paper summarises research and expertise on public communication of drought risks in a changing climate. We explore the difficulties involved in building understanding and engagement with the sometimes complex issues surrounding climate change and drought in the UK. The report outlines how communicators can best respond to these challenges. These lessons are intended to support delivery of...
If you have ever struggled with the communication of uncertainty, then this handbook is for you. It distills the most important research findings and expert advice into a few pages of practical, easy- to-apply techniques providing scientists, policy-makers and campaigners with the tools they need to communicate more effectively around climate change…. This handbook offers some strategies for closing the...
The guide, which includes research from a range of social science fields including psychology, anthropology, communications, and behavioral economics, is designed to be useful for experienced and novice communicators alike. Included in the guide are strategies to boost engagement, common mistakes to avoid, and best practices that organizations have used to meaningfully engage individuals and groups on climate change.
The Debunking Handbook, a guide to debunking misinformation, is now freely available to download. Although there is a great deal of psychological research on misinformation, there’s no summary of the literature that offers practical guidelines on the most effective ways of reducing the influence of myths. The Debunking Handbook boils the research down into a short, simple summary, intended as...
Research shows that most Americans do not feel a personal connection to climate change. They are aware of it, they may even rank it as a concern, but according to a 2008 Pew Research Center for People and the Press, they do not perceive it as a near-term priority on par with, say, the economic downturn or the need to...
