Social Media & News Data Analysis Shows Urgent Need To Better Communicate the Health Impact of Climate Change

People and organizations talk a lot about climate change online, but only 3.1 percent of content mentions connections to health, a new analysis reveals

PROVIDENCE, R.I. | September 24, 2024 ― New data analysis from the Information Futures Lab (IFL) at Brown University’s School of Public Health, in partnership with Climate Week NYC and supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, reveals that only 3.1 percent of online content which mentions climate change makes any connection to health-related impacts. Research shows that communicating the health impacts of climate change can strengthen public engagement with climate issues and generate support for climate policies and action. Yet, analysis of more than 2.4 million English-language social media posts and news data demonstrates a significant gap of when this connection is being made in online public discourse and news headlines. The findings and recommendations are now available in a new report titled, “The Untapped Potential of Climate Communication: Harnessing Health to Drive Action.”

“The scale of this finding is striking: 96.9 percent of news headlines and social media posts that mention climate change currently do not touch on health. We are missing a major opportunity to engage people in climate conversations and solutions”, said Stefanie Friedhoff, Professor of the Practice and co-founder of the Information Futures Lab at the Brown University School of Public Health. “Evidence shows that health-framed messaging can strengthen support for climate action, even across the political spectrum and including those who tend to be less concerned about climate change.”

A critical blind spot

“This is a critical blind spot in our current approach,” said Adam Lake, Head of Communications, North America at Climate Group. “At a time of need to galvanize public and political actions that can minimize the harm of climate change on people and the planet, this study underscores the urgent need for a shift in how we communicate about climate change.”

Presented today at Climate Week NYC, the new research analyzed climate change-related content across Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X and within news headlines from January 2023 – July 2024. In total, just over 2.4 million climate change-related social media posts and news headlines were gathered and analyzed for mentions of health topics. The team also looked more closely at the top 100 most-engaged-with posts on each social media platform that made a connection between climate and health, to understand the sources of these posts and what techniques they were applying to communicate about the health impact of climate change.

Moving past “Doom-and-gloom”-only messaging

Among the 3.1 percent of all climate change-related content that mentioned health impacts, news accounted for the greatest percentage (4.9 percent), followed closely by Instagram (3.9 percent) and Facebook (3.7 percent). The analysis of the 100 top posts on each platform also shows that a majority of the messaging that connected climate and health was negative: 58 percent of popular posts highlighted the negative consequences of climate change on health without providing actionable advice or solutions.

“This finding shows a challenging dynamic: The ways in which social media platforms prioritize and reward negative content incentivizes “doom and gloom” messaging and may discourage the creation and sharing of hopeful, solution-based messages – even though such content is more effective in inspiring action,” said Rory Smith, Research Manager at the IFL and a co-author of the new report. “While it is vital to acknowledge the challenges we face, we should at least be pairing problems with clear, actionable solutions that can motivate meaningful change.”

Among the most popular posts that mention the health effects of climate change, the researchers also found that 11 percent of this content was either climate denialist, contrarian, or downplayed the effects and severity of the climate crisis.

The new report urges organizations, leaders and activists to tap into the powerful, but underutilized, approach of connecting climate change and health by communicating the health impacts often and on all platforms, in ways that people can make sense of and with information people can act on.

Recommendations to strengthen climate and health communications include:

• Avoid general messaging and mention the specific health threat caused or exacerbated by climate change.
• Tell personal stories of people impacted or working on solutions, and connect solutions to health benefits.
• Move past negative messaging only and instead offer encouragement and actionable solutions.
• To reach more conservative audiences, apply more conservative framings.

“These findings illuminate a clear path forward for climate and health communicators,” said Estelle Willie, Director of Health Policy and Communications at The Rockefeller Foundation. “By talking about the connections between climate and health, by making the climate crisis more personal, we can strengthen engagement and, hopefully, empower people to take action.”

This research was made possible with support from The Rockefeller Foundation. Click this link to access the full report.

About the IFL

Founded in 2022, the Information Futures Lab (IFL) at Brown University is a new type of university hub. Interdisciplinary researchers work alongside organizations, journalists, civic society leaders, and other sources of trusted information to respond to the information crisis as a civic and public health threat. Recognizing information as a social determinant of health, we create an evidence base and work with our partners to improve information ecosystems and strengthen the capacity of citizens to effectively access, create, and make sense of information that is crucial to their wellbeing. For more information, visit sites.brown.edu/informationfutures and follow us on X @IFL_Brown and LI @information-futures-lab.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe  and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LI @the-rockefeller-foundation.

About the Climate Week NYC

Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together over 600 events and activities across the City of New York – in person, hybrid and online. Each year, business leaders, political change makers, local decision takers and civil society representatives of all ages and backgrounds, from all over the world, gather to drive the transition, speed up progress, and champion change that is already happening. Climate Week NYC is hosted by Climate Group, an international non-profit whose purpose is to drive climate action, fast. Learn more at www.climateweeknyc.org.