Focus and social contagion of environmental organization advocacy on Twitter

Abstract

Agriculture, over-exploitation and urbanisation remain the major threats to biodiversity in the Anthropocene. The attention these threats garner among leading environmental NGOs (eNGOs) and the wider public is critical in fostering the political will necessary to reverse biodiversity declines worldwide. Here, I analyse the advocacy of leading eNGOs on Twitter, and show that it is dominated by the major threats of climate change and over-exploitation, and the minor threat of plastic pollution. The major threats of agriculture, urbanisation, invasions, and pollution are rarely addressed. Content relating to over-exploitation and plastic pollution is more socially contagious than other content. Increasing emotional negativity further increases social contagion, while increasing emotional positivity does not. Scientists, policymakers and eNGOs should consider how narrowly focused advocacy on platforms like Twitter will contribute to effective global biodiversity conservation. Article impact statement: Reversing global biodiversity declines requires focus on major threats, but leading environmental NGOs often focus on minor threats. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.