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Scholars have noted the compatibility of right-wing populism—centering on belief in an antagonistic relationship between 'the people' and 'the elite' – with climate change skepticism. In this paper, we examine process skepticism, a type of criticism that we argue is especially well-aligned with populism. Process skepticism focuses not on denying evidence of climate change (evidence skepticism) nor on critiquing policy responses (response skepticism), but on directly attacking the scientific and political processes underlying climate science and policy decision-making. We examine the prevalence of populist ideas in climate skeptical frames disseminated in U.S. media between 2008 and 2020. As expected, we find robust evidence of populist skepticism, particularly in far-right outlets. More importantly, the majority of populist messages were process skeptical in nature. The emergence of process skeptical populist frames may critically impede climate policy efforts by promoting distrust that is especially resistant to increasing scientific evidence or policy advancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using two experimental studies, we examine how the selection and consumption of cable news influences news consumers' cognitive processing, attitudes, and policy preferences. As expected, participants overwhelmingly self-selected into an ideologically aligned cable news network. Then, ideologically congruent messaging from Fox News and MSNBC was likely to prompt higher levels of agreement and lower levels of disagreement for those with mid- and high levels of trust in their selected cable news network. Our findings indicate a reinforcing spiral effect among both MSNBC and Fox News consumers who have high levels of trust in the cable news network they select. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and case study research has highlighted the importance of issue framing to the adoption of state renewable energy and climate change policies. Yet this relationship has not been tested within broader models of state policy adoption. We fill this gap by exploring the relationship between issue‐framing patterns and climate/renewable energy policy activity across the 50 U.S. states, controlling for other well‐known determinants of state environmental policy choice. Our results confirm that framing patterns for these issues vary markedly between states and regions and that a higher proportion of frames highlighting the economic benefits of climate change and renewable energy policies is positively associated with state policy activity. These results further confirm the importance of new issue frames related to economic benefits in subnational climate and renewable energy politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the relationship between viewing political TV shows with female lead characters and political engagement. It argues that parasocial processes provide the necessary link and gender identity is a critical moderating variable. Results of an in-lab experiment show that viewing a female lead character in a politically-driven plotline increases political self-efficacy, interest, and participation among individuals who identify as more feminine, and this effect is mediated by parasocial interactions with that character. Coupled with prior research, these results demonstrate that more feminine individuals may become more politically engaged through parasocial interactions and relationships with fictional female political leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]