Just published a new paper in Environmental Communication with interdisciplinary team where we identified the logical fallacies in a comprehensive taxonomy of climate myths. Paper (paywalled) is at www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...., free pre-press manuscript is at sks.to/deconstructc...

It has been nearly a year since we released our Anti-Autocracy Handbook sks.to/autocracy. Our team of authors includes @karmaos.bsky.social @drsunitasah Prof Christina Pagel Renee DiResta Philipp Markolin John Cook 1/5

Watched movie Einstein & Eddington today. Eddington (David Tennant) empirically confirms theory of general relativity by Einstein (Andy Serkis). At end, Eddington gives speech about time being relative. Wife comments to me "he's right, for you the movie was 5 minutes long, for me it was 5 hours."

It was a big team effort to get the "SkS Experiment" set up, run it and then turn it into published research! @johnfocook.bsky.social, @baerbelw.bsky.social, @collinmaessen.bsky.social, Timo Lubitz, Doug Bostrom & @dananuccitelli.bsky.social Here is the link again: gc.copernicus.org/articles/9/1...

We just published a paper in Geoscience Communication where we measure the impact of reading climate myth rebuttals at bsky.app/profile/skep... - technically challenging research with some nuanced, complex results gc.copernicus.org/articles/9/1...

Quantifying the impact of Skeptical Science rebuttals in reducing climate misperceptions

Abstract. Misinformation about climate change leads to societal damage in a number of ways and consequently, resources are required to support interventions that counter their influence. Aiming to mee...

gc.copernicus.org

Uber-Tolkien nerd @colbertlateshow.bsky.social (which I've always admired him for) disses us for taking Lord of the Rings too seriously. Fair comment but we regret nothing! youtu.be/MMueOnpeAVA?...

Meanwhile... Middle Earth Weather Report | Clooney's Near-Beer | Why Cats Land On Their Feet

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

youtu.be

Had a chaotic & fun conversation with Joy Radio about our paper on building climate models of fantasy worlds. I accidentally insulted John Saffron for only reading The Hobbit but otherwise, think it went ok :-| joy.org.au/saturdaymaga...

Sat, 21st March, 2026: John Cook, Snr Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, MelbUni; Do Middle‑earth and Westeros Make Sense?

John Cook, Snr Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, MelbUni; Do Middle‑earth and Westeros Make Sense?

joy.org.au

Just published an article about our paper in @fafnirjournal.bsky.social describing how climate models were used to simulate fantasy worlds like Middle-earth & Westeros as well as for a new world I've developed for a cli-fi fantasy story theconversation.com/do-middle-ea...

Do Middle-earth and Westeros make sense? Climate scientists modelled them to find out

It’s a seemingly whimsical exercise, but it serves serious purposes.

theconversation.com

Had a great, in-depth conversation with @tgspodcast.bsky.social about climate misinformation (with an interesting digression at the end into my latest climate communication obsession: climate fiction). www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/212-...

Why Science Communication Fails: How to Break Down Misleading Arguments and Inoculate Against Misinformation - The Great Simplification

In this episode, Nate is joined by John Cook, a researcher who has spent nearly two decades studying science communication and the psychology of misinformation.

thegreatsimplification.com

Recently published in Fafnir - the Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy: "Climate Models as a Retroactive and Exploratory World-building Tool" fafnir.journal.fi/article/view... Thanks to @johnfocook.bsky.social @climatedann.bsky.social and Alex and Michael Farnsworth.

Want to test how good you are at recognising authors? Fill out this (anonymous) survey, checking authors you recognise but also avoiding checking fake authors (purpose is to measure which authors are too well known or not known at all) q.surveys.unimelb.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_...

I talked to @johnfocook.bsky.social about dealing with climate misinformation, and he recommended learning about the common techniques that bad actors use to distort facts: Fake experts Logical fallacies Impossible expectations Cherry-picking Conspiracy theories or FLICC, for short (4/11)

A history of FLICC: the 5 techniques of science denial

In 2007, Mark Hoofnagle suggested on his Science Blog Denialism that denialists across a range of topics such as climate change, evolution, & HIV/AIDS all employed the same rhetorical tactics to sow c...

skepticalscience.com

Joe Rogan has one of the world's most popular podcasts. Unfortunately, like nearly all of the most popular online shows, his tends to spread climate misinformation. For @climateconnections.bsky.social I scrutinize his recent episode with octogenarian climate contrarians Lindzen & Happer 🧵 (1/11)

Five ways Joe Rogan misleads listeners about climate change  » Yale Climate Connections

Rogan exposes millions to climate denial. Let’s break down his tactics.

yaleclimateconnections.org

Happy to share a new paper (accepted at J Environ Psych), led by the amazing @emilyspearing.bsky.social Black Summer Arson: Examining the Impact of Climate Misinformation and Corrections on Reasoning osf.io/preprints/ps... @johnfocook.bsky.social @lewan.bsky.social @profsanderlinden.bsky.social

Proud to have contributed to the blockbuster new volume Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment, documenting the many, many ways that corporations & orgs try to block climate action. Comprehensive, global in scope, authors from all over the world & the ebook version is FREE cssn.org/news-researc...

Global Assessment - Brown Climate Social Science Network

Climate advocacy has not failed, climate policy has been sabotaged, explains a new open access book, Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment.

cssn.org

Fun random statistic - our 2013 paper finding 97% scientific consensus on human-caused global warming just went past 1.5 million downloads (which is not a bad number for an academic paper) iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Excited to lead a University of Melbourne submission to the Senate inquiry on climate misinformation and also speak to @readfearn.bsky.social at @australia.theguardian.com about the trends in climate misinformation & how to counter it www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Media and political attacks on Australia’s emissions targets ‘straight out of the climate obstruction playbook’, expert says

Prof Christian Downie points to the Business Council of Australia and News Corp newspapers as examples of deliberate obstruction

theguardian.com

Experts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social @aronczyk.bsky.social and @johnfocook.bsky.social speak with @trackchangesmedia.bsky.social on the rising threat of climate disinformation in the media, solutions misinformation, and the attack on climate science and scientists themselves.

The Debunking Handbook 2020 has now been translated into Basque, making it the 21st translation of this influential guide to the psychological research into debunking misinformation. Many thanks to translator Laida Arbizu Aguirre and Wendy Cook for typesetting sks.to/db2020

If you're a @drilledmedia.bsky.social listener you know I think social scientists are key sources if we want to understand why governments haven't acted on climate. So imagine my nerd delight to get my hands on an incredible new batch of research on climate obstruction. drilled.media/podcasts/dri...

Welcome to the World of Obstruction

Investigating the obstacles to action on climate change.

drilled.media

Our 400+ page comment on the DOE climate working group report is now out. Our conclusion: The merchants of doubt are back, and they're coming for climate science.

Spoke to @katieyoder.bsky.social about the very disturbing development of the Trump administration disappearing climate reports and data, taking climate denial to an unseen level grist.org/language/tru...

Why the federal government is making climate data disappear

Under Trump, climate denial has given way to something even more dangerous: climate erasure.

grist.org

"you need to make it cheap and easy for people to make the switch. If it’s expensive, most people won’t do it. If it’s difficult or inconvenient, then forget it." www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/the-false-...

The false dichotomy of systemic and individual behaviour change

Individuals aren't going to solve climate change, but they are an important part of the system that will get us there.

sustainabilitybynumbers.com

Great coverage of our Anti-Autocracy Handbook by Bob Berwyn: insideclimatenews.org/news/0407202... . It's difficult to make autocracy seem funny but the White House managed to produce a hilarious comment @ninajankowicz.com @noupside.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social @philippmarkolin.bsky.social

New Handbook Aims to Protect Scientists From Autocratic Threats - Inside Climate News

Scientists, experts say, need to help protect democracy, “the system of government in which science, health and humanity are most likely to thrive.”

insideclimatenews.org

We had a great first training module on climate disinformation ! Today we looked at the phenomenon Thursday next week (10 July) we will focus on solutions with @johnfocook.bsky.social , @lewan.bsky.social and @simofons.bsky.social #disinformation #climateaction #climatechange #edmoEU

European Digital Media Observatory@edmo-eu.bsky.social · last yr.

🌡️ While Europe's #heatwave pushes temperatures above 40°C, today's first session of our training series underlined: #climate #disinformation doesn't just happen, it's a tool used by powerful actors to sabotage #climateaction – and it must be better understood + countered. 1/2

Reminder: register by 3 July, 17:00 CEST, and join us as we zoom in on effective responses to #climate #disinformation with: 🔸 @lewan.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social 🔸 @johnfocook.bsky.social @mcbc-unimelb.bsky.social 🔸 @simofons.bsky.social @facta.news 🗓️ 10 July, 10:00-11:30 🔗 loom.ly/G3FV_VQ

Autocracies often follow a common playbook, built around the “3 Ps”: populism, polarization, and post-truth This handbook highlights both historic and contemporary measures aimed at attacking scholars, their institutional environments, and their scholarship zenodo.org/records/1569...

I am privileged to announce the publication of the Anti-Autocracy Handbook: sks.to/autocracy 1/12

Fantastic team of authors comprising relevant experts and several scholars who have lived under autocracy, including: @karmaos.bsky.social @profsunitasah.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social @ninajankowicz.com @noupside.bsky.social @philippmarkolin.bsky.social @johnfocook.bsky.social 3/12

📣 Join our Training Series on #Climate #Disinformation! 7️⃣ expert trainers 2️⃣ online sessions 1️⃣ pressing challenge This series is open to all stakeholders working to tackle disinformation & #climatepolicy experts interested in questions on climate disinformation. 👉 Learn more at loom.ly/aNrZHiM.