Media Bias and Climate Change Skepticism

Abstract

This study examines the impact on climate change attitudes of exposure to Fox News Channel (FNC), the top-rated U.S. cable television channel known for its conservative bias. Our findings indicate a statistically significant shift towards climate change skepticism and a decline in support for climate change mitigation policies. The findings remain robust across multiple empirical methodologies, including addressing the endogeneity of viewership through an instrumental variable (IV) approach, and are consistent across a variety of survey datasets. Our research adds significant value to the existing literature on media's influence on beliefs, highlighting the role media plays in guiding societal discourse and comprehension.

Keywords: Climate Change Attitudes, Media Influence, Cable Television, Instrumental Variable (IV) Approach

JEL Classification: Q54,D72,L82