Our changing information ecosystem for science and why it matters for effective science communication

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Krause, Nicole M.; Freiling, Isabelle; Scheufele, Dietram A.
• 署名单位: University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; The Morgridge Institute for Research, Inc.; Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-15249
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2400928121
• 发表日期: 2025-07-08
• 关键词: social media; political news; exposure; trust; need

摘要

Current information ecologies present unique opportunities to communicate science and engage diverse publics in science. Unfortunately, they also present unique challenges. Here, we outline how the public sphere for science is transforming as media evolve, and we connect these changes to the high-stakes issue context of COVID-19. We argue that scientific organizations' struggles to adapt to evolving media are linked, in part, to asymmetries in which social media platforms prevent researchers from producing reliable data that could inform institutional change and improve science communication. This has been apparent in studies of echo chambers and filter bubbles. Producing a more usable evidence base, we conclude, will require that scholars a) obtain access to proprietary data, b) reconceptualize information ecologies as social systems, c) avoid ceding core research tasks to platforms, d) address ethical issues, and e) grapple with the urgency of moving forward productively.