Sampling and processing of climate change information and disinformation across three diverse countries

In popular media, accurate climate information and climate disinformation often coexist and present competing narratives about climate change. As climate disinformation can undermine public support of climate policies and trust in climate science, it is crucial to understand what leads to exposure and acceptance of climate disinformation. Whereas previous research examined the effects of disinformation on climate beliefs, little is known about how people seek climate-related content (Pro- or Anti-climate) and how this varies between cross-cultural contexts. In a preregistered experiment, we studied how individuals sequentially sample and process climate-related information and disinformation. Participants from the U.S., China and Germany (Ntotal = 2226) freely sampled real-world climate related statements. Across 15 rounds, participants decided between two boxes containing Pro-climate or Anti-climate statements, respectively. Overall, reading a statement influenced climate concern in all countries. Participants preferred the box that was better aligned with their initial climate beliefs, and this confirmatory tendency intensified in later rounds. While climate concern was mostly stable, in the U.S., climate concern levels and box choices mutually reinforced each other, leading to greater polarization within the sample over time. The paradigm offers new perspectives on how people process and navigate conflicting narratives about climate change.