A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of Climate Disinformation

On January 31st, at 2:00 PM Join us in Sage 4711 for a talk with Melissa Aronczyk, Professor in the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers University. 

This talk examines public relations as a social and political force that shapes both our understanding of the environmental crises we now face and our responses to them. I will discuss how publicity experts have long shaped how publics understand and make sense of environmental problems, with devastating effects on our response to environmental hazards like pollution, resource depletion, and the climate crisis. Beyond accounting for false or misleading content in scientific and technical information, the study of climate disinformation requires an examination of professional communicators and their institutions, norms and movements. Without this piece of the puzzle, we miss crucial ways that struggles are won, resources allocated, and beliefs fostered about environmental problems.