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<p>Disruptive non-violent protest in the name of climate action is on the rise, with more and more movements turning to unconventional actions in the hopes of raising awareness and creating policy change. So far, research has found mixed results regarding the effects of disruptive tactics on public opinion. This study is the first to measure effects on salience (public attention to climate change) side by side with other policy-relevant climate attitudes. In two pre-registered survey experiments, I present participants in Denmark and the UK with real-world media content showing climate protesters blocking a road (Study 1) and disrupting a sporting event (Study 2). Compared to a control condition with no content, the studies respectively show a 19% and a 10% increase in respondents naming climate change as a top problem in their country (<i>p</i> &lt; 0<i>.</i>01). I also show null effects on many climate attitudes, with the exception of a limited backlash effect on opinions about the specific policy change demanded by the activists. Thus, I confirm the existence of an activist’s dilemma: actions that increase issue salience (by getting climate stories in the media) also have small backlash effects on their message.</p>

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The Activist’s Trade-Off: Climate Disruption Buys Salience at a Cost

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月6日

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  • Clara Vandeweerdt

摘要

Disruptive non-violent protest in the name of climate action is on the rise, with more and more movements turning to unconventional actions in the hopes of raising awareness and creating policy change. So far, research has found mixed results regarding the effects of disruptive tactics on public opinion. This study is the first to measure effects on salience (public attention to climate change) side by side with other policy-relevant climate attitudes. In two pre-registered survey experiments, I present participants in Denmark and the UK with real-world media content showing climate protesters blocking a road (Study 1) and disrupting a sporting event (Study 2). Compared to a control condition with no content, the studies respectively show a 19% and a 10% increase in respondents naming climate change as a top problem in their country (p < 0.01). I also show null effects on many climate attitudes, with the exception of a limited backlash effect on opinions about the specific policy change demanded by the activists. Thus, I confirm the existence of an activist’s dilemma: actions that increase issue salience (by getting climate stories in the media) also have small backlash effects on their message.