Fake expert and pseudo-scientist labels are increasingly used in science and public debates to delegitimize actors or claims, often in the context of misinformation 📰 In our newest publication in Communication Theory we explore what such terms actually mean. 👇

How did a high-stakes meeting between Trump, Vance& Zelenskyy turn from diplomacy to open confrontation? Lotte van Burgsteden, @christelvaneck.bsky.social &I unpack conversational polarisation as it unfolded live in the Oval Office. @polcommjournal.bsky.social contains link to transcript #openaccess

🌿 PhD Opportunity in Environmental Psychology: We would like to invite students to apply for the student-led 2026 WGSSS PhD Studentship Competition at Cardiff University. (1/3) 🗓️ Deadline: 11 Dec 2025 🔗 wgsss.ac.uk/student-led-general-competition

Scientists are changing their normal #communication practice of only giving facts, esp. re climate change. @christelvaneck.bsky.social‬ & @tonivdmeer.bsky.social‬ tested whether stories & affective expression affect scientists’ credibility & found context & consistency matter doi.org/10.1177/0963...

New in Social Media + Society: How do (non-)disruptive #climate #protests shape social media debates? We analyzed ~5M Twitter/X posts on #FFF & #LetzteGeneration: Disruptive protests generate more engagement—but also more polarization, driven by right-wing/conservative users: doi.org/10.1177/2056...

Was not expecting to open the main CBC page this morning and see this! In today’s climate, I feel our message is even more relevant than even just a few months ago when the interview was recorded. www.cbc.ca @christelvaneck.bsky.social @lydiamessling.bsky.social

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! 🙏

UZH Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ)@ikmz.bsky.social · 2y ago

We're happy to have @christelvaneck.bsky.social as a visiting researcher at #IKMZ! Christel is an Assistant Professor at @ascor.bsky.social and an expert on #climatechange #communication, science communication, and #polarization. Thanks for being with us, we hope Zurich will be treating you well! ☀️

1️⃣ More and more, we see scientists openly expressing emotions—moving away from the traditional norm of "rational", "neutral" communication. But what are the consequences of this shift? Does showing emotion compromise a scientist’s credibility? In our latest publication, we explored this question 🧵👇

1️⃣ There’s much debate about the role of scientists in climate advocacy, but we often overlook the core concerns behind their arguments. In our latest publication 🔍, we map these concerns based on interviews with 47 climate scientists! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

📣NEW PAPER: ‘Advocacy - defending science or destroying it?’ Our interviews with 47 climate scientists provide detailed explanations on all the good things about policy advocacy and the legitimate concerns with threats to the integrity and credibility of science. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

I used to think science was completely objective, free from human values and biases. Obviously, that is bollocks. We are humans who make value informed decisions every day! So I ❤️ this from @christelvaneck.bsky.social @katharinehayhoe.com @lydiamessling.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Excited to see our recent commentary featured on CBC! In this piece, our co-author @katharinehayhoe.com brilliantly unpacks why climate science communication cannot be and should not be neutral 👏 👇

Denis Gilbert 🌎@denis-gilbert.ca · 2y ago

Quirks and Quarks host Bob Macdonald interviews @katharinehayhoe.com on the role of scientists in society. She argues that climate scientists need to be more transparent about their personal values in communicating with the public. Link to text and 20-minutes interview ⬇️ www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks...

Our global study on the state of trust in scientists is now out in Nature Human Behaviour! 🥳 With a team of 241 researchers, we surveyed 71,922 people in 68 countries, providing the largest dataset on trust in scientists post-pandemic 👇🧵https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02090-5

Super fascinating climate-communication study making the rounds today, thanks to @katharinehayhoe.com. Skeptics who changed their minds went through a three-step process, which began with a "distancing from their ideological community." 👇 🧵

Good to see this. At the time, I called out Büntgen assertions as "superficial" and "naive" (www.varsity.co.uk/news/27665) and "mendacious" (www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...). van Eck et al unpack that nicely here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...

🎁 A little holiday treat 🎁 We have a new paper on climate action communication on #Twitter 🌍 We analyzed over 6.4 million tweets from 2021, including tweets from the general public and tweets from 'climate' scientists on @katharinehayhoe.com's "Scientists who do climate" list🧵 osf.io/preprints/os...

⁉️How do you navigate conversations about climate change when opinions conflict? Do you passionately try to persuade others, even at the risk of escalating tensions? Or do you prioritize finding common ground and maintaining conversational safety? 1/3

🚨 New preprint 🚨 Are climate scientists less trusted than scientists in general? 🤔🌍 Yes, we find evidence of a significant trust gap between climate scientists and scientists in general. 👇🧵 osf.io/preprints/os...

omorrow Saturday 1:30 PM at the Berlin Science Week: "Science communication & safety of scientists: Towards Open and Critical Debate, without Hostility", with @weitergen.de, @christelvaneck.bsky.social, @annemdijkstra.bsky.social, @katjabaer.bsky.social and me: berlinscienceweek.com/programme/sc...

Science communication & safety of scientists: Towards Open and Critical Debate, without Hostility

As in many countries, scientists in Germany and the Netherlands increasingly feel hostility, mistrust and threat from the public when they present their work and expertise. Especially when it comes to...

berlinscienceweek.com

Our new essay below pairs well with one published by @lisaschipper.bsky.social and colleagues this same week, below. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Scientists have emotional responses to climate change too - Nature Climate Change

The dominant paradigm holding that science is always objective needs to be challenged. When scientists’ opinions about climate change and their own fears are seen as irrelevant, it suggests that scien...

nature.com

Katharine Hayhoe@katharinehayhoe.com · 2y ago

The myth of the heartless brain - in which @christelvaneck.bsky.social, @lydiamessling.bsky.social and I dismantle the claim that science should - or even can - be neutral. Open access @natureportfolio.bsky.social 🧪🌎

🚨I recommend checking out our new commentary on the neutrality myth in climate science and activism, together with @lydiamessling.bsky.social and @katharinehayhoe.com in Nature Climate Action #openaccess nature.com/articles/s44... 1/3

Katharine Hayhoe@katharinehayhoe.com · 2y ago

The myth of the heartless brain - in which @christelvaneck.bsky.social, @lydiamessling.bsky.social and I dismantle the claim that science should - or even can - be neutral. Open access @natureportfolio.bsky.social 🧪🌎

🚨New publication about “climate-solutions polarization”. We've studied the underlying values in the polarized Dutch media debate about biomass. #OpenAccess #biomass ⭐️with Anke Wonneberger, Jeroen Jonkman, & Christian Burgers tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

🚨For all academics investigating climate change polarization, please check out my new article in WIREs Climate Change where I review the field of ‘online climate change polarization’. Here are a few important takeaways… 1/7🧵

Did you get into any heated conversations about climate change with your cranky uncle over the Christmas dinners? 🌲 In our newest project, we want to investigate the emotions in such conversations, and are therefore recruiting a post-doctoral researcher: vacatures.uva.nl/UvA/job/Post...

🚨 #PhD position available! Are you interested in climate journalism? 🌿🌎 Join the project 'Climate Advocacy Journalism: Conflating Facts with Values in Reporting about Climate Solutions' supervised by @christelvaneck.bsky.social, Christian Burgers & Anke Wonneberger. 📆 The deadline is November 1! 👇

🕰️The deadline is approaching... Do you know someone for this PhD position? ⬇️ Are you interested in climate change communication, and particularly in climate advocacy journalism? Come work with us in beautiful Amsterdam! 🙏Please retweet 📧DM for questions vacatures.uva.nl/UvA/job/PhD-...