„Thematic Issue“ about Digital Science Communication Published under the Editorship of the Department of Communication
(03.04.2023) Science communication has changed dramatically in recent years as a result of digitization. For example, scientists can communicate directly with their audience via social media. Citizens can participate in scientific projects via the Internet and access an almost unlimited amount of scientific information. However, this trend also poses challenges such as the spread of mis- and disinformation on scientific topics or hostile attacks that scientists are exposed to on the Internet. A recent issue of the open-access journal Media and Communication is dedicated to the topic of science communication in the digital age.
The "Thematic Issue" was co-edited by Prof. Dr. Julia Metag, Dr. Florian Wintterlin and Kira Klinger M.A. The issue contains 12 different contributions that deal with potentials and challenges of online communication for science communication. A number of contributions deal with the communication of scientists and scientific institutions on online platforms and compare, for example, the communication of climate scientists and Corona experts on Twitter. Several articles examine how scientific topics are communicated online, e.g., on Twitter, but also on the Chinese platform Weibo and on alternative news media sites. The third group of articles examines the effects of science communication in digital media environments, including how explainer videos on YouTube influence attitudes toward science issues.
The issue is open access and articles can be downloaded free of charge from the journal website.