Climate deniers use scientific aesthetics to reinforce and legitimise their message. At the same time their main opponents, the climate activists, are portrayed as emotional and irrational. This has been demonstrated by researchers from the Universities of Gothenburg and Amsterdam, who have studied how climate deniers communicate online.

– Disinformation is not just about incorrect facts, but about how these facts look and feel. In today’s digital media landscape, messages are spread through images, memes and visual narratives that influence us in an instant, before we even have time to think. By understanding the aesthetic logic behind climate denial, we can also understand why it is so effective, says sociologist Anton Törnberg, one of the researchers behind the study.

The research is based on an analysis of digital communication from eight key actors in climate disinformation in Sweden. The material comprises 17,848 online posts combining text and images, published on blogs and websites between 2010 and 2023.

Builds credibility by mimicking science
The analysis reveals clear strategies used by climate deniers. One of these involves presenting themselves and their message as rational and objective, rather than ideological, by creating an aura of scientific credibility.

– This is done by using scientific aesthetics with graphs, diagrams and technical reasoning, often accompanied by rhetoric that signals neutrality and objectivity. A typical example is posts showing a curve of carbon dioxide emissions or a satellite image of global temperatures, says Anton Törnberg. The fact that climate deniers' messages actually contradict the conclusions of established science does not prevent them from borrowing its language.– It constitutes what we might call scientific mimicry. This means that climate deniers reject the authority of the scientific community, but copy its language, form and visual aesthetics in order to gain credibility.

Mobilises emotions through caricatures of the opponent
Another strategy used is to portray the opposition as irrational. Climate activists are depicted as being driven by emotions rather than reason and fact-based arguments. This contrast is used to reinforce a narrative in which ‘the rational sceptic’ stands in opposition to ‘the hysterical climate cult’.

– The images used are often taken at intense moments, showing angry faces, chaotic demonstrations and people shouting or crying. In some cases, memes and parodies are used in which Greta Thunberg is portrayed as hysterical, religious or childish. Sometimes there are images of her in a halo or accompanied by her own statue.

This tactic is also used to attack the ideological roots of climate policy, which are often portrayed as sectarian or totalitarian.

– This can be done through memes and images alluding to Mao Zedong. Others use images of Joseph Goebbels, suggesting that today's climate communication is propaganda. In some cases, the swastika is replaced with the recycling symbol on a Nazi-like armband, a visual strategy that portrays the environmental movement as authoritarian and manipulative, says Anton Törnberg.