Media Misinformation and Media Literacy: How it Affects Climate Science Validity

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the persisting spread of misinformation throughout our various media sources. This information is crucial to finding what ways this spread perpetuates myths and disbelief regarding climate science. With these findings I will also be exploring how the lack of media and information literacy plays a major role in this disbelief. The population I will be focusing on within the study is the people of the United States of America. I will be conducting this study through a qualitative researching process, starting first with a deep analysis of literature from reputable sources. With this analyzed literature, I will then organize it into a comprehensive literature review broken down into subheadings. Multiple surveys and studies were performed throughout the literature. Looking closely at the way climate misinformation is spread within our media, and how we assess and interpret said media is extremely important considering how it effects trust, belief and perceived validity in climate science.