Anti-science Communication: Elite Cues and Their Effects on Citizens– An Analysis of German Parties’ and Politicians’ Social Media Communication

• Applicant: Dr. Jennifer Bast
• Subject Area: Political Science ; Communication Sciences
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564274745

Anti-science communication (ASC) by political actors – i.e., rhetoric that criticises or even undermines scientists and scientific expertise – warrants scientific and public attention as it is assumed to decrease the public’s trust in science and undermine support for some of the most urgent global challenges, such as climate change or vaccine hesitancy, which are grounded in scientific consensus. Despite these concerns, there is limited systematic evidence on the use of ASC by political elites or the effects of various forms of ASC on diverse audiences. Specifically, the theoretical and empirical focus on populist actors limits a broader understanding of ASC in the political context and bears the risk of overlooking strategic applications of this form of communication, especially with regard to elite communication. Against this background, this project seeks to investigate the strategic use of ASC by German parties and politicians across the political spectrum and to thoroughly examine the effects of anti-science elite communication on citizens. This includes its potential to persuade voters and its broader implications for public attitudes towards science. To achieve this, the project first analyses the prevalence and determinants of various forms of ASC in the social media communication of politicians and political parties. Unlike previous research, this study adopts a deliberately broad analytical perspective, encompassing actors across the political spectrum, in order to explore the wider strategic applications of ASC and identify determinants of its use. This will help to understand whether ASC is primarily a populist phenomenon or a strategic tool used by different political actors. Additionally, the project aims to analyse different types of ASC, contributing to the predominantly theoretical debate on which forms of ASC are particularly relevant in political communication. Furthermore, the project analyses the impact of ASC by political elites on citizens’ attitudes and behavioural intentions through a series of online survey experiments. First, it assesses whether immediate effects of different types of ASC are a joint function of type of ASC, the thematic context, the sender of the messages, and respondents’ prior attitudes. Second, the project investigates how effects of ASC by political actors on citizens evolve over time and the extent to which repeated exposure to ASC generates cumulative effects. It addresses these questions in a longitudinal experimental design. This project thus makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to a better understanding of the (strategic) use of different forms of ASC by political actors and its determinants, as well as effects of this form of communication on citizens.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants