The Potential of Interactivity and Gamification Within Immersive Journalism & Interactive Documentary (I-Docs) to Explore Climate Change Literacy and Inoculate Against Misinformation

Brannon, L, Gold, L, Magee, J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1542-2041 and Walton, G ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4251-2891 (2022) The Potential of Interactivity and Gamification Within Immersive Journalism & Interactive Documentary (I-Docs) to Explore Climate Change Literacy and Inoculate Against Misinformation. Journalism Practice, 16 (2-3). pp. 334-364. ISSN 1751-2786

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Abstract

This paper uses a content analysis methodology to investigate the potential of immersive journalism and interactive documentary (I-Docs) to cover climate change content. Interactive documentaries convey information in many innovative formats, yet changing patterns of media consumption and the negative impact of misinformation can reduce their communicative effectiveness. Therefore, this article explores how we can identify different interactive structures and theoretical frameworks to help ensure I-Docs leverage the potential of emerging techniques to communicate climate change content effectively. This is increasingly important as climate change predictions become exponentially severe, and misinformation continues to distort the scientific consensus surrounding climate change during the Anthropocene. We investigate the thematic and structural properties of three interactive documentary works: “The Last Generation: Climate Change and the Marshall Islands”, “This is Climate Change: Melting Ice” and “Offshore”. Our results show how these divergent examples of I-Docs sit within current frameworks of Immersive Journalism and can use complex, non-linear narrative structures to explore environmental issues. We argue that the gamification of I-Doc work and the embedding of inoculation techniques offer the potential to engage audiences and reduce their susceptibility to climate change misinformation.