Paid Voices vs. Public Feeds: Interpretable Cross-Platform Theme-Based Analysis of Climate Discourse
arXiv:2601.13317v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Climate discourse online shapes public understanding of climate change and informs political and policy debate, yet it unfolds across structurally different environments: paid advertising platforms host targeted, institutionally produced messaging, while public social media reflects largely organic, user-driven discussion. We present a comparative analysis of climate discourse across paid advertisements on Meta (previously Facebook) and public posts on Bluesky from July 2024 to September 2025. To support it, we develop an interpretable
The proliferation of online platforms and increasing polarization around climate change necessitate more rigorous, interpretable analysis of how this critical discourse is shaped across different digital environments.
Understanding the divergence between institutionally-produced climate messaging on paid platforms and user-driven discourse on public feeds offers critical insights into persuasion, public opinion formation, and potential narrative manipulation.
We can now differentiate the characteristics and impacts of 'paid voices' versus 'public feeds' in shaping public understanding and policy debates around climate issues.
- · Researchers studying online disinformation
- · Climate communicators
- · Social media platforms prioritizing transparency
- · Policy makers
- · Opaque advertising practices
- · Actors relying on unscrutinized online narratives
Further research will likely emerge on content amplification and algorithmic biases across these distinct digital ecosystems.
Increased pressure on advertising platforms to disclose more about political and issue-based advertising could follow.
Public discourse on other contentious topics might also be analyzed through this 'paid vs. public' lens, revealing similar patterns of influence.
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Read at arXiv cs.LG