John Cook

Why Science Communication Fails: How to Break Down Misleading Arguments and Inoculate Against Misinformation - The Great Simplification In this episode, Nate is joined by John Cook, a researcher who has spent nearly two decades studying science communication and the psychology of misinformation.

Had a great, in-depth conversation with @tgspodcast.bsky.social about climate misinformation (with an interesting digression at the end into my latest climate communication obsession: climate fiction).
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/212-...

Recently published in Fafnir - the Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy: "Climate Models as a Retroactive and Exploratory World-building Tool" fafnir.journal.fi/article/view...

Thanks to
@johnfocook.bsky.social @climatedann.bsky.social and Alex and Michael Farnsworth.

We weren’t calling it truth sandwich when we released the Debunking Handbook in 2011, we referred to the fact-myth-fallacy structure (Lakoff is catchier than us cogsci nerds)

Want to test how good you are at recognising authors? Fill out this (anonymous) survey, checking authors you recognise but also avoiding checking fake authors (purpose is to measure which authors are too well known or not known at all) q.surveys.unimelb.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_...

A history of FLICC: the 5 techniques of science denial In 2007, Mark Hoofnagle suggested on his Science Blog Denialism that denialists across a range of topics such as climate change, evolution, & HIV/AIDS all employed the same rhetorical tactics to sow c...

I talked to @johnfocook.bsky.social about dealing with climate misinformation, and he recommended learning about the common techniques that bad actors use to distort facts:

Fake experts
Logical fallacies
Impossible expectations
Cherry-picking
Conspiracy theories

or FLICC, for short (4/11)

Five ways Joe Rogan misleads listeners about climate change  » Yale Climate Connections Rogan exposes millions to climate denial. Let’s break down his tactics.

Joe Rogan has one of the world's most popular podcasts. Unfortunately, like nearly all of the most popular online shows, his tends to spread climate misinformation. For @climateconnections.bsky.social I scrutinize his recent episode with octogenarian climate contrarians Lindzen & Happer 🧵 (1/11)

Happy to share a new paper (accepted at J Environ Psych), led by the amazing @emilyspearing.bsky.social

Black Summer Arson: Examining the Impact of Climate Misinformation and Corrections on Reasoning

osf.io/preprints/ps...

@johnfocook.bsky.social @lewan.bsky.social @profsanderlinden.bsky.social

Global Assessment - Brown Climate Social Science Network Climate advocacy has not failed, climate policy has been sabotaged, explains a new open access book, Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment.

Proud to have contributed to the blockbuster new volume Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment, documenting the many, many ways that corporations & orgs try to block climate action. Comprehensive, global in scope, authors from all over the world & the ebook version is FREE cssn.org/news-researc...

Fun random statistic - our 2013 paper finding 97% scientific consensus on human-caused global warming just went past 1.5 million downloads (which is not a bad number for an academic paper) iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

It’s complementary, there’s no single magic bullet against misinformation which is a complex, interconnected problem requiring multi-pronged solutions. We need better mindsets, critical thinking and BS detection, media literacy and more

Submissions Submissions

BTW, you can read the 200+ submissions (such a wealth of useful information not to mention some submissions packed with misinformation) at www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar.... The Uni of Melb submission is #128 (to get clickbaity, you'll never guess who #125 is! ;-)

Media and political attacks on Australia’s emissions targets ‘straight out of the climate obstruction playbook’, expert says Prof Christian Downie points to the Business Council of Australia and News Corp newspapers as examples of deliberate obstruction

Excited to lead a University of Melbourne submission to the Senate inquiry on climate misinformation and also speak to @readfearn.bsky.social at @australia.theguardian.com about the trends in climate misinformation & how to counter it www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Experts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social @aronczyk.bsky.social and @johnfocook.bsky.social speak with @trackchangesmedia.bsky.social on the rising threat of climate disinformation in the media, solutions misinformation, and the attack on climate science and scientists themselves.

Cover of Basque translation of the Debunking Handbook 2020

The Debunking Handbook 2020 has now been translated into Basque, making it the 21st translation of this influential guide to the psychological research into debunking misinformation. Many thanks to translator Laida Arbizu Aguirre and Wendy Cook for typesetting sks.to/db2020

Welcome to the World of Obstruction Investigating the obstacles to action on climate change.

If you're a @drilledmedia.bsky.social listener you know I think social scientists are key sources if we want to understand why governments haven't acted on climate. So imagine my nerd delight to get my hands on an incredible new batch of research on climate obstruction. drilled.media/podcasts/dri...

Our 400+ page comment on the DOE climate working group report is now out.

Our conclusion: The merchants of doubt are back, and they're coming for climate science.

Doh thanks for letting me know :-(

Why the federal government is making climate data disappear Under Trump, climate denial has given way to something even more dangerous: climate erasure.

Spoke to @katieyoder.bsky.social about the very disturbing development of the Trump administration disappearing climate reports and data, taking climate denial to an unseen level grist.org/language/tru...

The false dichotomy of systemic and individual behaviour change Individuals aren't going to solve climate change, but they are an important part of the system that will get us there.

"you need to make it cheap and easy for people to make the switch. If it’s expensive, most people won’t do it. If it’s difficult or inconvenient, then forget it."

www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/the-false-...

New Handbook Aims to Protect Scientists From Autocratic Threats - Inside Climate News Scientists, experts say, need to help protect democracy, “the system of government in which science, health and humanity are most likely to thrive.”

Great coverage of our Anti-Autocracy Handbook by Bob Berwyn: insideclimatenews.org/news/0407202... . It's difficult to make autocracy seem funny but the White House managed to produce a hilarious comment @ninajankowicz.com @noupside.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social @philippmarkolin.bsky.social

We had a great first training module on climate disinformation !

Today we looked at the phenomenon

Thursday next week (10 July) we will focus on solutions
with @johnfocook.bsky.social , @lewan.bsky.social and @simofons.bsky.social

#disinformation
#climateaction
#climatechange

#edmoEU

Register by 3 July to join Module 2 of the EDMO Training Series on Climate Disinformation

Reminder: register by 3 July, 17:00 CEST, and join us as we zoom in on effective responses to #climate #disinformation with:

🔸 @lewan.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social
🔸 @johnfocook.bsky.social @mcbc-unimelb.bsky.social
🔸 @simofons.bsky.social @facta.news

🗓️ 10 July, 10:00-11:30
🔗 loom.ly/G3FV_VQ

Autocracies often follow a common playbook, built around the “3 Ps”: populism, polarization, and post-truth

This handbook highlights both historic and contemporary measures aimed at attacking scholars, their institutional environments, and their scholarship

zenodo.org/records/1569...

I am privileged to announce the publication of the Anti-Autocracy Handbook: sks.to/autocracy 1/12

Authors: Stephan Lewandowsky University of Bristol and University of Potsdam BlueSky: @lewan.bsky.social Vera Kempe Abertay University, Dundee Konstantinos Armaos University of Bonn Linkedin: @karmaos BlueSky: @karmaos.bsky.social Ulrike Hahn Birkbeck, University of London Christoph M. Abels University of Potsdam Susilo Wibisono University of Queensland Winnifred Louis University of Queensland Sunita Sah Cornell University LinkedIn: @drsunitasah Instagram: @drsunitasah Christina Pagel University College London BlueSky: @chrischirp.bsky.social Substack: christinapagel.substack.com Nina Jankowicz American Sunlight Project Renee DiResta Georgetown University BlueSky: @noupside.bsky.social Instagram: @renee.diresta Philipp Markolin Reatch! Research. Think. Change., Zurich BlueSky: @philippmarkolin.bsky.social Henrik Schoenemann Humboldt University of Berlin Ralph Hertwig Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Henry Crull Louisiana State University Barry Mauer University of Central Florida Dawn Holford University of Bristol Ezequiel Lopez-Lopez Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin John Cook University of Melbourne BlueSky: @johnfocook.bsky.social

Fantastic team of authors comprising relevant experts and several scholars who have lived under autocracy, including: @karmaos.bsky.social @profsunitasah.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social @ninajankowicz.com @noupside.bsky.social @philippmarkolin.bsky.social @johnfocook.bsky.social 3/12

EDMO Training Series on Climate Disinformation

📣 Join our Training Series on #Climate #Disinformation!

7️⃣ expert trainers
2️⃣ online sessions
1️⃣ pressing challenge

This series is open to all stakeholders working to tackle disinformation & #climatepolicy experts interested in questions on climate disinformation.

👉 Learn more at loom.ly/aNrZHiM.

To conclude Reconciliation Week, Ngarrngga hosted a Debunking Myths seminar with Dr @johnfocook.bsky.social with Faculty of Education staff members. We learnt to apply research and specific methodologies to misinformation about Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples. #NRW2025

A promotional graphic for the Healthy Climate America podcast. At the top, the podcast logo features a green and blue caduceus symbol with the text "Healthy Climate America." Below, two circular headshots are displayed: on the left, Lisa Patel, MD, MESc, labeled as "Host: Lisa Patel, Executive Director, The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health," and on the right, John Cook, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Center for Behavior Change." White soundwave graphics are in the background. The main text reads: "New Podcast Episode – Teaching the Choir to Sing: How Health Professionals Can Fight Misinformation." At the bottom, a green banner displays "Listen now: bit.ly/HealthyClimateAmerica.

With the rampant spread of mis- and disinformation, how can health professionals fight back with the truth? @johnfocook.bsky.social joined @lisapatel.bsky.social for a new episode of Healthy Climate America to explore this question and more.

Listen here: bit.ly/HealthyClimateAmerca

Excited to present a workshop on misinfo at the “Listen, Engage, Connect: Explore the Science Communication Arena” Summer School at the University of Geneva. Runs from June 23-27. Ideal for students, early-career researchers, science communicators. Register before 31 May at bit.ly/scicomm25

I was recently invited to participate in an expert meeting on climate misinformation in the U.S. After much thought and talking to colleagues, I regretfully declined. Like many academics, I consider the U.S. not a safe country to visit atm. Sadly the meeting is in-person, no virtual option :-(