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Following the Tweets: What Happened to the IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report on Twitter?

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Media and Global Climate Knowledge

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the role of Twitter in reporting and circulating the IPCC Synthesis Report (SYR). The report is considered an empirical entry point to understand the dynamics of the new media environment and the dynamic actor-networks in which IPCC communication takes place. Using this brief document as a launching point, the chapter probes into the network of digital communication and analyzes how the scientific knowledge of SYR translated into a complex system of transnational stakeholders and their local sub-networks. Ultimately the chapter addresses the question: Does the use of social media call for reconsideration of the role of professional journalism in science communication?

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Notes

  1. 1.

    IPCC Media Advisory. (2014, October 30). Webcast and live feed of IPCC press conference. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/press/141030_webcast_advisory.pdf

  2. 2.

    In this study, we used NodeXL software that helps with gathering, visualizing and analysing data from different social media platforms.

  3. 3.

    The search time frame was limited to tweets published between October 30 and November 5, 2014. The resulting sample consists of 39,103 tweets, involving 18,855 unique users. Retrieving all the tweets that mention IPCC, without the hashtag sign, produces a data set approximately four times larger. Collecting such a large volume of material misses the point of tracing the active tagging and sharing practices that enrich and intensify digital communication. The total number of hashtags used in the sample is 80,937 (39,103 of them are #ipcc), the total number of unique hashtags is 1232.

  4. 4.

    The list naturally excludes #ipcc. It also excludes four other frequently used hashtags that were considered thematically obvious and predictable: #climate (35.89%), #climatechange (11.61%), #climate2014 (8.75%), #ar (8.65%), and #cambioclimatico (0.88%) (Spanish for climate change).

  5. 5.

    Singer, S. (2014). How the IPCC quieted climate sceptics with its new report. WWF Cool Planet Blog, November 3. Retrieved from http://climate-energy.blogs.panda.org/2014/11/03/ipcc/.

  6. 6.

    Climate Change 2014: Synthesis report. (2014). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full.pdf

  7. 7.

    Singer, S. (2014). How the IPCC quieted climate sceptics with its new report. WWF Cool Planet Blog, November 3. Retrieved from http://climate-energy.blogs.panda.org/2014/11/03/ipcc/; WWF Global. (2014, November 2). No more debates on climate science, over to leaders. wwf.panda.org. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/climate_carbon_energy/?232090/No-more-debates-on-climate-science-over-to-leaders

  8. 8.

    WWF Global. (2014, October 27). IPCC report casts halo over UN climate negotiations. wwf.panda.org. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?231734/IPCC-report-climate; WWF Global. (2014, November 2). No more debates on climate science, over to leaders. wwf.panda.org. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/climate_carbon_energy/?232090/No-more-debates-on-climate-science-over-to-leaders

  9. 9.

    Singer, S. (2014). How the IPCC quieted climate sceptics with its new report. WWF Cool Planet Blog, November 3. Retrieved from http://climate-energy.blogs.panda.org/2014/11/03/ipcc/

  10. 10.

    Gillis, J. (2014). U.N. panel issues its starkest warning yet on global warming. The New York Times, November 3. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/world/europe/global-warming-un-intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change.html

  11. 11.

    Warrick, J., & Mooney, C. (2014). Effects of climate change “irreversible,” U.N. panel warns in report. The Washington Post, November 2. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/effects-of-climate-change-irreversible-un-panel-warns-in-report/2014/11/01/2d49aeec-6142-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html

  12. 12.

    Light, J. (2014, November 2). The 10 things you need to know from the new IPCC climate report. Grist.org. Retrieved from http://grist.org/climate-energy/the-10-things-you-need-to-know-from-the-new-ipcc-climate-report

  13. 13.

    McGrath, M. (2014). Fossil fuels should be phased out by 2100 says IPCC. BBC News, November 2. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29855884; Carrington, D. (2014). IPCC: Rapid carbon emission cuts vital to stop severe impact of climate change. The Guardian, November 2. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/02/rapid-carbon-emission-cuts-severe-impact-climate-change-ipcc-report

  14. 14.

    Carrington, D. (2014). IPCC: Rapid carbon emission cuts vital to stop severe impact of climate change. The Guardian, November 2. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/02/rapid-carbon-emission-cuts-severe-impact-climate-change-ipcc-report

  15. 15.

    Light, J. (2014, November 2). The 10 things you need to know from the new IPCC climate report. Grist.org. Retrieved from http://grist.org/climate-energy/the-10-things-you-need-to-know-from-the-new-ipcc-climate-report; Vaughn, A. (2014). IPCC report: Six graphs that show how we’re changing the world’s climate. The Guardian, October 31. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/31/ipcc-report-six-graphs-that-show-how-were-changing-the-worlds-climate

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communication, Media and Theatre, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Dmitry Yagodin

  2. Department of Social Science, York University, Toronto, Canada

    Matthew Tegelberg

  3. Institute for Communication and Media Studies, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Débora Medeiros

  4. University of Denver, Denver, USA

    Adrienne Russell

Authors
  1. Dmitry Yagodin
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  2. Matthew Tegelberg
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  3. Débora Medeiros
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  4. Adrienne Russell
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Risto Kunelius

  2. Journalism and Media Studies, Olso & Åkerhus University College, Oslo, Norway

    Elisabeth Eide

  3. York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Matthew Tegelberg

  4. School of Communication, Media and Theatre, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Dmitry Yagodin

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Yagodin, D., Tegelberg, M., Medeiros, D., Russell, A. (2017). Following the Tweets: What Happened to the IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report on Twitter?. In: Kunelius, R., Eide, E., Tegelberg, M., Yagodin, D. (eds) Media and Global Climate Knowledge. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52321-1_9

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