Every political season — or for that matter, any season (no pun intended) — climate change is bound to be a subject heavily debated on television, the internet, and even more so on social media. However, one platform has been viewed as having remained largely untouched in the climate change misinformation arena — until now.
In a first-of-its-kind study, Dr. Gunnar Schade, an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University, has taken a closer look at how misinformation, particularly climate change misinformation, is spreading on LinkedIn. Despite being known as a hub for professionals and experts, the popular social network can also be characterized as a realm where the extent and impact of misinformation remains largely unexplored and is surprisingly thriving.
During the spring of 2024, Schade worked with undergraduate students in his course, ATMO 444: The Science and Politics of Climate Change, to dive deeper into the climate misinformation circulating on LinkedIn. He collaborated with misinformation researchers at Ripple Research who developed the data collection platform and conducted thorough analyses on the dataset.
“The class project was an opportunity to involve students in a real-world analysis of social media misinformation,” Schade said. “We focused on LinkedIn, a platform not typically associated with misinformation, and used a systematic framework to categorize false claims.”
The project involved students analyzing 1,388 LinkedIn posts related to climate change between December 2021 and April 2024. These posts garnered significant interaction — approximately 245,000 engagements through likes, comments and shares. To systematically categorize these posts, the students employed the CARDS framework, a tool used to detect and classify denial and skepticism of climate science.
Key Findings: Climate Misinformation Thrives On LinkedIn
Schade’s project uncovered two dominant claims spread across LinkedIn: “Climate solutions won’t work” and “Climate science is unreliable.” These narratives accounted for more than 60% of the posts analyzed, echoing findings from other platforms such as YouTube. Most of the misinformation aimed to undermine clean energy solutions, discredit climate science or dismiss climate policies as harmful.
The hashtag analysis revealed a similar picture. Common hashtags like #climatescam, #climatehoax and #catastrophizing were used to discredit climate initiatives and downplay the seriousness of what concerned scientists call the climate crisis. Calls for climate action are framed as alarmist or as exaggerating the problem when, in reality, Schade says the science paints a clear picture of rapidly worsening conditions for not only human societies, but all life on Earth.
A deeper analysis by the authors revealed that a small yet influential group, termed “misinfluencers” by Ripple Research, was responsible for nearly 40% of the total misinformation posts. Despite being a minority, these individuals garnered a disproportionate amount of attention, with their content attracting the most comments, shares and interactions, amplifying the spread of false narratives.
Implications: Addressing The Spread Of Misinformation
The study highlights a critical challenge: Even on a professional platform like LinkedIn, misinformation can spread widely, with misleading narratives undermining professional discourse and casting doubt on important topics like climate change. Despite LinkedIn being a space where experts and professionals gather, misinformation is still able to gain traction and influence conversations.
Looking ahead, Schade believes raising awareness about these misinformation narratives is essential, as they are not widely recognized in the professional world or by mainstream journalists covering the climate crisis and energy transition. He plans to continue the research next spring with his ATMO 444 class, expanding the project’s data by exploring which tactics are gaining traction and which are fading.
Schade noted that, in today’s fast-paced news environment, academic publishing often results in outdated findings, making graphical reports like the one produced from this project more impactful for timely updates. While the current findings aren't comprehensive and carry some biases due to the students' backgrounds and selections, Schade says they highlight how climate misinformation can infiltrate even professional platforms. He hopes that future studies will expand on these insights and help counteract the spread of false information.
"The project served as an impactful learning exercise for students," Schade added. "We teach them the science and also the psychology behind why some people deny facts, like how smoking causes cancer or how greenhouse gases drive climate change. By educating them about misinformation, we reduce their vulnerability to it."