Narratives of environmental misinformation and public perception of climate change
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Abstract
Environmental disinformation poses a critical challenge in the digital age, distorting perceptions of climate change, eroding trust in science, and weakening public commitment to sustainability. Environmental disinformation poses a critical challenge in the digital age, distorting perceptions of climate change, eroding trust in science, and weakening public commitment to sustainability. The objective was to conduct an integrative analysis of recent scientific output (2020-2025) on environmental misinformation and public perception of climate change, with an emphasis on dominant narratives, digital platforms, the
social effects involved, and proposed mitigation strategies. An integrative review was conducted based on the PRISMA 2020 criteria and the methodology of Whittemore and Knafl (2005), using searches in Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and Redalyc. From a total of 335 records, 41 theoretical and empirical studies were selected. The findings identify three recurring narratives: denialist, delayist, and conspiratorial,
which circulate on social media through highly emotive multimodal formats. These narratives generate effects such as skepticism, polarization, and climate cynicism, reducing pro-environmental attitudes. Mitigation strategies, focused on critical literacy and information verification, show partial effectiveness. As a main contribution, a structured typology of narratives and an integrative conceptual model are proposed that not only strengthen theoretical analysis but also offer practical guidance for the formulation of
more effective public policies and communication strategies against climate misinformation.
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