Tyranny of Balance in News Increases Climate Change Denialism in Indonesian Society

Abstract

Climate change denialism, the rejection of overwhelming scientific evidence about the negative impacts of human activities on the environment, is a significant hurdle in mitigating climate change. This study investigates the influence of communication factors on climate change denialism among 124 students in Cilegon, Banten. Factors examined include news immediacy, scientific communication competence, message tone, tyranny of balance, and message narrative. Multiple regression analysis revealed only the tyranny of balance in news reporting significantly impacted climate change denialism (p < 0.001). Other variables, including belief in conspiracy theory, news immediacy, science communication competence, message tone, and message narrative, had no significant effect. These findings underscore the crucial role of media bias in climate change denialism, particularly in the context of emerging, tropical, and island nations. Future research should scrutinize journalistic principles and mass communication about climate change denialism. However, the methodology has limitations, including a homogeneous student sample and potential recall bias, necessitating more diverse sampling and experimental methods in future studies.