Communicating Climate Change: The Impact of Animated Data Visualizations on Perceptions of Journalistic Motive and Media Bias

Focusing on maps, a common technique for conveying climate change information, this study uses an experiment (N = 423) to test how the type (static vs. animated) and repeated exposure (one vs. two) of visualizations impact biased perceptions. Presented with a pro-climate change regulations news article, participants who read the version with animated visualizations perceived the story to be more biased than those who were presented with static images. Further, a perceived advocacy motive mediated the triggering of an animated visualization to arouse more biased perceptions in favor of climate regulations. The implications for democratic ideals are discussed.