Frame Sequencing the Climate Change Online: An Analysis of Evolving Narratives on YouTube Video Data

Frame Sequencing the Climate Change Online: An Analysis of Evolving Narratives on YouTube Video Data | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Frame Sequencing the Climate Change Online: An Analysis of Evolving Narratives on YouTube Video Data Francesco Amato, Alberto Maria De Mascellis This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8831546/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Over the past decades, YouTube has become a central arena for public narratives where global risks, such as climate change, are increasingly framed for online audiences. We present empirical research conducted through a novel Framing Analysis approach, which we define “Frame Sequencing”, aimed at analysing large volumes of unstructured data, particularly valuable for qualitative and quantitative inquiries on audiovisual content online. Methodologically, we offer a replicable workflow aimed at a robust Framing Analysis on user-generated video data, showing how context evolution shapes the prominence and articulation of online communication on the platform. Finally, the proposed framework has been proven on YouTube platform following the discussed issue of climate change, where it insightfully highlighted the frame sequences on which a qualitative deepening has been carried out, leading to the acknowledgment of three evolving narratives portrayed by influential platform actors: Data room narratives; Science and call to action; and climate change political debate. Framing Analysis Methodology Platform Narratives Video data Climate Change Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8831546","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":593811561,"identity":"1cb1551b-a2be-4a0b-a2c8-f459f7460c03","order_by":0,"name":"Francesco Amato","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gY0ATl+IHEAiHlwaeE5gMJNYDCWbIBqwaUHQ0viBpgITi3Sh589+FFRJ8/PwPx0w88fNoybb+QePFxQwyBjj0sLX5q5Yc+Zw4YzG9jMbvYkpDGb3chLODzjGG6H2fMwmEkzth1IMDjAYHaDJ+Ewm9mNHIPDPGx4/MLD/k2a8V8dUAv7t5t/Eg7zGM8AafmHTwsP0JYGZqAWHrPbQFskDCSAWnjb8Gopk+w5BvRLM0/ZbZm0NAOJM2+AWvokeNACE9lh2yR+1ABDjL192803Njb1/e05xp95vtnYY8QyBmBG5UoQUj8KRsEoGAWjAA8AAEvOUH2wpx4gAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Naples Federico II","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Francesco","middleName":"","lastName":"Amato","suffix":""},{"id":593811562,"identity":"63e2acfd-d209-4847-b41a-2c394845ce92","order_by":1,"name":"Alberto Maria De Mascellis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Udine","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alberto","middleName":"Maria","lastName":"De Mascellis","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-09 14:26:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8831546/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8831546/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103504329,"identity":"9cbe6208-1f7c-4d0e-82c1-1d65761ab773","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:19:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":546441,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AnonymousFramesequencingClimateChangeOnline.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8831546/v1_covered_d011c1ff-2f1c-4f82-ba34-e1d45996a0e8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Frame Sequencing the Climate Change Online: An Analysis of Evolving Narratives on YouTube Video Data","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Framing Analysis, Methodology, Platform Narratives, Video data, Climate Change","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8831546/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8831546/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eOver the past decades, YouTube has become a central arena for public narratives where global risks, such as climate change, are increasingly framed for online audiences. 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