Mapping in an Echo Chamber: How Cartographic Silence Frames Conservative Media’s Climate Change Denial

Abstract

Maps are a key way through which the science of climate change is communicated, but as partisan divides lead to new ideologically driven consumption patterns of news sources, it is important to understand how the media uses maps across the political spectrum. In this study, we investigate how maps have been incorporated into climate change communication in conservative media. Our research has two major findings. First, compared to mainstream media, conservative media is far less likely to use maps in reporting on climate change. We call this lack of maps a “cartographic silence,” borrowing and expanding on Harley’s term. Second, when conservative media uses maps, never do they create their own maps to accompany false arguments. Instead, these maps are republished from other media or peer-reviewed science, and reframed by logical fallacies. We conclude by offering suggestions about how scientists can improve their maps in hopes that they will be less susceptible to use in conservative disinformation efforts.