Krause Nicole M, Freiling Isabelle, Scheufele Dietram A
Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI 53715.
Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Jul 8;122(27):e2400928121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2400928121. Epub 2025 Jun 30.
Current information ecologies present unique opportunities to communicate science and engage diverse publics in science. Unfortunately, they also present unique challenges. Here, we outline how the public sphere for science is transforming as media evolve, and we connect these changes to the high-stakes issue context of COVID-19. We argue that scientific organizations' struggles to adapt to evolving media are linked, in part, to asymmetries in which social media platforms prevent researchers from producing reliable data that could inform institutional change and improve science communication. This has been apparent in studies of echo chambers and filter bubbles. Producing a more usable evidence base, we conclude, will require that scholars a) obtain access to proprietary data, b) reconceptualize information ecologies as social systems, c) avoid ceding core research tasks to platforms, d) address ethical issues, and e) grapple with the urgency of moving forward productively.
当前的信息生态为传播科学以及让不同公众参与科学提供了独特机遇。不幸的是，它们也带来了独特挑战。在此，我们概述随着媒体发展，科学公共领域是如何转变的，并将这些变化与新冠疫情的高风险问题背景联系起来。我们认为，科学组织在努力适应不断演变的媒体过程中所面临的困难，部分与不对称现象有关，即社交媒体平台阻碍研究人员生成可用于推动机构变革和改善科学传播的可靠数据。这在对回音室和过滤气泡的研究中已很明显。我们得出结论，要建立一个更实用的证据基础，学者们需要：a) 获取专有数据；b) 将信息生态重新概念化为社会系统；c) 避免将核心研究任务让渡给平台；d) 解决伦理问题；e) 应对高效推进工作的紧迫性。
