Hyperrationality and Rhetorical Constellations in Digital Climate Change Denial: A Multi-Methodological Analysis of the Discourse of Watts up with That

Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2022 Open Access

Hyperrationality and Rhetorical Constellations in Digital Climate Change Denial: A Multi-Methodological Analysis of the Discourse of Watts up with That

Denise Tillery University of Nevada, Reno ; Emma Frances Bloomfield University of Nevada, Reno

Abstract

Using a multi-methodological approach, we analyze member comments in Watts Up With That (WUWT), a climate skeptical Facebook group. Quantitative topic modeling revealed that members claim hyperrationality to undermine climate science. Science-based terms were often connected to other topics, such as immigration and LGBTQ+ rights, creating rhetorical constellations that shifted rhetoric from technical spaces into political and ideological ones. These findings have implications for dealing with the challenge of misinformation’s circulation on social media.

Journal: Technical Communication Quarterly
Published: 2022-10-02
DOI: 10.1080/10572252.2021.2019317
Open Access: OA PDF Hybrid
Topics: multilingual writers

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