Humour and sarcasm: expressions of global warming on Twitter

Abstract

Abstract The increasing popularity of Twitter as a medium for sharing and debating scientific information brings forth questions about the type of narratives emerging around environmental/climate change and global warming. This article maps the landscape of narratives of how Twitter is used to communicate about environmental issues in Turkey. It displays how these actors can play a crucial role in constructing and/or de-constructing such crisis. I show how Twitter users in Turkey, use such medium to strengthen their own and the public’s awareness on global warming or to deny all together create a counter narrative and how certain frames that promote scepticism about environmental change are broadly disseminated by using certain emotional context. The analyses of the 1295 tweets collected using a random week sample displayed users who are sceptical about the Turkish government taking a more active stance toward climate change whereas the users supporting the government in general where more preoccupied with hoax arguments that in return may compromise trust in scientific authorities. The analysis combines thematic analysis of tweets and coding. I conclude the paper by conversing the significance of studying Twitter as a communicative platform that provides rich information displaying the existing dynamics.