In denial: een exploratieve studie naar desinformatie rondom de stikstofcrisis

Since the onset of the nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands, outspoken critics of the proposed policies have emerged. Some of their criticism can be seen as a form of disinformation, for example, claims that the government wants to ‘steal’ land from farmers to build houses for immigrants. In this exploratory study, the authors compare online messages concerning the nitrogen crisis with the literature on climate change denial, both environmental phenomena where science denial plays a role and where established industries feel threatened. After reviewing the literature on climate change denial, the authors carry out empirical qualitative research to identify actors involved in questioning the nitrogen crisis. Using online posts from these actors, they examine the arguments used. They see both denial of the scientific basis of the nitrogen crisis, as well as arguments against the proposed policies, that intend to spread doubt as to the need for action. Similarities with climate change denial arguments are found, however, the ‘victims’ of the problems differ. In the nitrogen crisis, farmers fulfill the ‘ideal victim’ role; for climate change the general public are portrayed as victims rather than the fossil fuel industry. The authors discuss what their results mean for (critical green) criminology, focusing on the harmful consequences of a polarized social debate fueled by doubt, the link between online polarization and violent behavior offline, and the need for a critical approach to the broader problem of disinformation around the intensive livestock agriculture.