Indicators and assessment of place-based climate misinformation resilience (Communication and Information) VILNIUS TECH

Overview

Research topic description: Climate misinformation shapes how people interpret climate knowledge, decide whom to trust and whether climate action feels necessary. The problem is particularly pronounced in low-urgency contexts where climate change is experienced as gradual, ambiguous or not personally salient and where attention spikes only episodically. In such settings (e.g., Lithuania), climate communication cannot depend on crisis framing to mobilize engagement. Relevance has to be built through local meanings, credible messengers and public sense-making that connects scientific evidence to everyday experience without overstating immediacy.

This PhD topic proposes to study climate misinformation through a science communication lens with a specific focus on local framing. Local framing is understood as the set of communication choices that translate climate evidence into place-based meanings: which impacts are emphasized, which time horizons are used, how uncertainty is explained, which co-benefits and trade-offs are highlighted and who is positioned as a credible voice. A core assumption is that misinformation often gains traction by filling narrative gaps created when climate knowledge is communicated primarily through abstract global indicators, technical visualizations and decontextualized facts. When local resonance is weak, misleading narratives can localize more effectively than scientific communication by attaching to familiar weather experiences, sectoral concerns (e.g., agriculture, energy prices) and identity-linked cues.

The PhD would develop and validate a methodology to evaluate and support misinformation resilience in low-urgency contexts. Empirically, the research could combine comparative case studies across settings such as local media debates, municipal climate communication, education initiatives and citizen-facing climate programmes. The study would examine: how misinformation narratives localise and which framing strategies they use; how digital platforms and media routines shape visibility and engagement with both reliable and misleading content; which participation-oriented interventions (eg citizen science, stakeholder co-creation, community dialogues) strengthen trust, relevance and interpretive capacity.

Expected outcomes include a conceptual model linking perceived urgency, local framing and misinformation dynamics, a practical indicator set for evaluating communication and participation outcomes and guidance for designing place-based climate communication that remains persuasive when climate change feels distant.

The selected candidate will work on the PhD thesis under the supervision of dr. Monika Mačiulienė. The successful applicant will have to attend scientific conferences, meetings and internships in the other universities. 

Requirements

• Required background: Master degree in social sciences

• Expected skills and knowledge: n/a.

It is a prerequisite that you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview. The position may not be opened if no qualified candidate is found. Additional information regarding the post may be obtained from dr. Monika Mačiulienė, e-mail: monika.maciuliene@vilniustech.lt