Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land

The study analyzed over 6,000 English-language Twitter posts following the release of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land. It found that meat consumption and dietary options emerged as highly discussed and contentious topics, exhibiting toxicity levels comparable to previous climate science skepticism, suggesting a shift in public controversy from the science of climate change to its proposed solutions.

• Meat consumption and dietary options were among the most discussed topics on Twitter in response to the SRCCL, despite these subjects being a relatively minor component of the actual report.
• The discourse regarding meat and diet exhibited high levels of toxicity, similar to the levels of contention previously seen in responses to IPCC reports regarding the credibility of the IPCC and skepticism of climate science.
• The high level of controversy over diet may reflect polarized public narratives and a transition where public criticism has moved from the validity of climate science toward the validity of climate solutions.

APA

Sanford, M., & Painter, J. (2021). Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land. Climate Social Science Network. https://cssn.org/controversy-around-climate-change-reports-a-case-study-of-twitter-responses-to-the-2019-ipcc-report-on-land/

Chicago

Sanford, Mary, and James Painter. Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land. Climate Social Science Network, 2021. https://cssn.org/controversy-around-climate-change-reports-a-case-study-of-twitter-responses-to-the-2019-ipcc-report-on-land/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sanford |first1=Mary |last2=Painter |first2=James |title=Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land |publisher=Climate Social Science Network |date=7 September 2021 |url=https://cssn.org/controversy-around-climate-change-reports-a-case-study-of-twitter-responses-to-the-2019-ipcc-report-on-land/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sanford2021controversy, author = {Sanford, Mary and Painter, James}, title = {{Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land}}, institution = {Climate Social Science Network}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://cssn.org/controversy-around-climate-change-reports-a-case-study-of-twitter-responses-to-the-2019-ipcc-report-on-land/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }