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Media coverage of climate activist groups in Germany
Fabian Dablander1,2, Simon Wimmer3, Jonas Haslbeck4,5
1Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Climatic Change
|July 28, 2025
Summary
Media coverage of climate activist groups like Fridays for Future and Last Generation often lacks climate change details. Disruptive groups receive more negative portrayals, particularly from right-leaning news sources.
Area of Science:
- Climate Change Communication
- Media Studies
- Social Movement Analysis
Background:
- Climate activist groups are crucial for public awareness and policy change.
- Media portrayal significantly impacts the effectiveness of these activist groups.
- Disruptive protest tactics by groups like Last Generation garner specific media attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze news media coverage of Fridays for Future and Last Generation in German newspapers.
- To assess the information provided on climate change risks and solutions in media reports.
- To compare media portrayals of different climate activist strategies.
Main Methods:
- Content analysis of online news articles from major German newspapers (2022-2023).
- Utilized frequency analysis and GPT-4 for text analysis.
- Focused on articles concerning Fridays for Future and Last Generation.
Main Results:
- Many articles offered limited information on climate change risks and solutions.
- The disruptive Last Generation group was reported on less informatively and more negatively than Fridays for Future.
- Right-leaning newspapers provided the least climate information and most negative portrayals.
Conclusions:
- Media coverage, especially from right-leaning sources, may hinder public understanding of climate change.
- Negative and less informative reporting could impact the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of climate activism.
- Further research is needed on media strategies and activist group reception.
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