Climate Disinformation on TikTok in Brazil: Science and Epistemic Authorities in Conflict

Authors

  • Julia Noia Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6626-4032
  • Luisa Massarani Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5710-7242
  • Luana Cruz Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2169-3048
  • Amanda Medeiros Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4491-4245
  • Vanessa Fagundes Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Belo Horizonte, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8018-8490
  • Luiz Felipe Neves Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Goiânia, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5994-9494

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.48(2025).6334

Keywords:

climate disinformation, platforms, social networks, TikTok

Abstract

Record highs in the Earth’s average temperature and the recurrent occurrence of extreme events have made climate change a central focus of international organisations’ and governments’ agendas worldwide. The epistemic crisis in science, together with the rise of individual belief systems, raises concerns about the spread of climate disinformation, particularly in a context where social networking platforms increasingly mediate everyday life. This article analyses the meanings conveyed in disinformation-based content about climate change published on TikTok to identify which actors, technical resources, and discursive strategies are mobilised to reinforce narratives on the topic. To this end, methodological procedures drawn from content analysis are employed to examine disinformation-based material randomly selected on TikTok using the keywords “climate change”, “climate changes” and “global warming”. A total of 207 videos were analysed. The results indicate a high percentage (71%) of cropped or decontextualised materials on TikTok that rely on scientific or journalistic arguments to disseminate factoids about climate change. Paradoxically, the main vectors of disinformation are science professionals or journalists (34%), whose scientific capital is mobilised in videos to disinform, whether intentionally or unintentionally, by the protagonist. These results thus suggest that science is being instrumentalised and scientists are being mobilised to promote an informational disorder based on exaggerations about climate change and its consequences, requiring equally complex collective actions to mitigate these effects.

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Author Biographies

Julia Noia, Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Julia Noia is a journalist and holds a master’s degree in Communication and Culture at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is a researcher at the National Institute for Public Communication of Science and Technology.

Luisa Massarani, Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Luisa Massarani holds a PhD in Management, Education, and Dissemination in Biosciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is the coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology for Public Communication of Science and Technology and a researcher at the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. She holds a PQ-A Productivity in Research grant from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and a Scientist of Our State grant from the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Luana Cruz, Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Luana Cruz holds a PhD in Language Studies from the Federal Centre for Technological Education of Minas Gerais. She is a researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology for Public Communication of Science and Technology and a lecturer on postgraduate courses in Advertising Creation and Audiovisual Production, Digital Journalism Production, Strategic Communication in Organisations, and High-Performance Strategies in Digital Communication at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais. Additionally, she is a journalist for the Projeto Ilíada within the National Education and Research Network.

Amanda Medeiros, Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Amanda Medeiros holds a doctorate in Communication and Culture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is a “Nota 10” postdoctoral fellow of the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro, affiliated with the Postgraduate Programme in Science, Technology and Health Communication. She is also a researcher at the National Institute for Public Communication of Science and Technology.

Vanessa Fagundes, Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Vanessa Fagundes holds a PhD in Sociology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. She is a researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology for Public Communication of Science and Technology and a lecturer on the postgraduate course in Public Communication of Science (Amerek) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Additionally, she serves as the coordinator of the Communications Office at the Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais.

Luiz Felipe Neves, Instituto Nacional de Comunicação Pública da Ciência e Tecnologia, Goiânia, Brazil

Luiz Felipe Neves holds a doctorate in Sciences from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, which included a visiting period at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom). He has a master’s degree in Communication from the Federal University of Goiás and a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication/Journalism, with a specialisation in Communication and Marketing Advisory. He works as a technical-administrative staff member in education, serving as a journalist at the Communication Office of the Federal University of Goiás. He is a member of the National Institute for Public Communication of Science and Technology.

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Published

2025-12-29

How to Cite

Noia, J., Massarani, L., Cruz, L., Medeiros, A., Fagundes, V., & Neves, L. F. (2025). Climate Disinformation on TikTok in Brazil: Science and Epistemic Authorities in Conflict. Comunicação E Sociedade, 48, e025024. https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.48(2025).6334

Issue

Vol. 48 (2025): Invisibilities in and of Journalism

Section

Varia

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Copyright (c) 2025 Julia Noia, Luisa Massarani, Luana Cruz, Amanda Medeiros, Vanessa Fagundes, Luiz Felipe Neves

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