Snake Invasion: Evaluation of an Online News Frenzy

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1 Snake Invasion: Evaluation of an Online News Frenzy Amanda R. Rotella, Rachel A. Connelly, Morgan D. Marsh, Caitlin C. Wessel, Julie W. Murphy, Laura L. Canton, and James O. Luken Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies Graduate Program, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina USA Introduction Although television is still the dominant source of scientific news for the general public, a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that 40 million Americans now get this information from the Internet (Horrigan 2006). Convenience plays a significant role in the growing influence of online science content (Horrigan 2006), with the result that scientific research as well as interpretations or summaries of published research (i.e., science news) are now more likely to be accessed by the general public (Trench 2008). Greater online availability of scientific information, and more specifically the results of ecological research, are generally viewed as a positive contribution to public understanding of ecology. However, the unique attributes of online news (i.e., rapid posting, low persistence, low word count, diverse origins, lack of peer review) may limit their value in providing reliable information, while at the same time broadening and diversifying the pool of those who might scrutinize, support, or criticize the research enterprise (Trench 2008). Any assessment of how the results of ecological research are eventually communicated to the general public is complex. One might begin by addressing the issue of why most research is ignored by the Internet media, while a small subset is chosen for public consumption. Other issues of interest include the makeup of the readership, the goals of the Internet journalists and their employers, and the role of scientists in controlling Internet information. All of these issues beg for more rigorous evaluation procedures focusing on public communication of science and the growing influence of Internet-based information (Neresini and Pellegrini 2008). We present here an analysis of Internet news produced as a direct result of a single publication, a report by a government agency (Reed and Rodda 2009). The analysis was done as part of a graduate course in Invasion Ecology at Coastal Carolina University. This class project was opportunistic, as the formal release of Reed and Rodda (2009) coincided with class discussions on how public perceptions of biological invasions are shaped. The publication dealt with large, invasive snakes, and thus online news coverage was extensive. Our analysis focused on the quantity and quality of Internet news. Two questions were addressed. How much information was presented? How well did the Internet news reflect the content of the original publication? Methods Reed and Rodda (2009) was released as United States Geological Survey (USGS) open file report on 13 October Immediately following release, we repeatedly searched the Internet for news stories based on the report. Our search continued until 20 November We analyzed the news items in terms of key points and in terms of interpretation errors. Key points of the original publication were identified by class consensus and then tallied through critical reading of the news items. Errors in the news items were categorized as: factual errors, exaggerations, conclusions beyond the data, political 438 Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

2 opinions, and parody. Results Reed and Rodda (2009) is a 302-page publication dealing with the natural history, management, and invasion potential of nine large constrictors in the United States. The Internet search for this publication yielded 26 unique news items, 11 written by syndicated news agencies, and 15 written as blogs, as newsletters, or as items released by net forums for special interest groups. The mean word count for the news items was 621. We identified the following key points of this paper: threat to humans, invasion range, effects of climate change, risk assessment, pet release, removal/capture, reproduction/growth, rights of pet owners, biology in the native habitat, and extinction risk for competing species. Of the these key points, those mentioned most frequently in the news items were: threat to humans, snake removal/ capture, reproduction/growth, and pet release (Table 1). Nineteen of the 26 news items (73%) had errors. The most frequent errors were exaggerations (13 items), unsubstantiated conclusions (11 items), and factual errors (10 items). Two of the news items included parodies based on the original publication. Discussion There is a broad philosophical body of knowledge regarding the responsibilities and protocols associated with scientific communication (Montgomery 2003). However, the majority of this knowledge is focused on how scientists communicate with each other; there are few guidelines for how scientific information is distilled and then transferred to the general public via the Internet. As a form of communication, Montgomery (2003) describes the Internet as messy, changeable, and beyond the control of any single entity. While few would bemoan the greater dissemination of ecological research via the Internet, there is a downside to this, particularly if the dissemination process results in misinformation. Our results suggest that secondary sources of scientific information on the Internet are incomplete not a surprising conclusion with a mean word count of 621 and biased. There was a tendency for the news pieces to focus on immediate impacts to humans and immediate solutions to the problem, rather than on the full range of scientific issues. These biases are likely due to the fact that some of the subject matter involved potentially dangerous snakes that are bought, sold, and kept as pets. However, the incomplete nature of the news articles can also be traced to an emerging style of Internet writing that can best be described as the light, engaging, narrative (Ross-Larson 2002). Perhaps more worrisome for those interested in information flow and for ecologists interested in research dissemination was the high frequency of errors. Again, this may have been linked to the subject matter of the original publication, which in turn motivated writers to overstate the threat or dismiss the threat of large invasive snakes. Regardless, our results indicate that secondary sources of Internet information may better reflect the agendas of the news writers and their employers rather than the information of the original research. The primary research result of Reed and Rodda (2009) was a series of risk models producing putative invasion ranges for large constrictors as well as the potential impacts of a warming climate. Pyron et al. (2008) presented an alternative series of models that contradicted the results of Reed and Rodda (2000). This critical and interesting aspect of the research arena did not make it into any of the Internet news items that we accessed. Although uncertainty was clearly present in the original article, this feature of the science was apparently not newsworthy. October

3 Thirty-eight percent of the news items allowed readers to post comments, and the numbers of comments ranged from 0 to 30. This level of commentary is higher than noted by Trench (2008) for a survey of scientific organizations posting science news. The comments posted in response to summaries of Reed and Rodda (2009) were diverse, entertaining, and provided a candid assessment of how the general public views the work of scientists. Our results were based on a single piece of scientific literature and the subsequent Internet spinoffs. Only more exhaustive research will determine if our conclusions are similar to other situations where release of a scientific paper spawns numerous news items. Such research will eventually allow an accurate assessment of the Internet in scientific communication. Literature cited Horrigan, J. B The Internet as a resource for news and information about science. Pew Internet and American Life Project, Montgomery, S. L The Chicago guide to communicating science. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Neresini, F., and G. Pellegrini Evaluating public communication of science and technology Pages in M. Bucchi and B. Trench, editors. Handbook of public communication of science and technology. Routledge, New York, New York, USA. Pyron, R. A., F. T. Burbrink, and T. J. Guiher Claims of potential expansion throughout the U.S. by invasive python species are contradicted by ecological niche models. PLoS ONE 3:e2931 [doi: /journal.pone ] Reed, R. N., and G. H. Rodda Giant constrictors: biological and management profiles and an establishment risk assessment for nine large species of pythons, anacondas, and the boa constrictor: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report , Washington, D.C., USA. Ross-Larson, B Writing for the information age. W. W. Norton, New York, New York, USA. Trench, B Internet: turning science communication inside-out? Pages in M. Bucchi and B. Trench, editors. Handbook of public communication of science and technology. Routledge, New York, New York, USA. 440 Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

4 Table 1. Rank order of key points included in 26 Internet-based news items produced in response to Reed and Rodda (2009). Rank Key points included Number of news items that included key point 1 threat to humans 23 2 snake removal/capture 20 3 reproduction/growth 20 4 pet release 19 5 risk assessment 18 6 extinction risk 10 7 native habitat 10 8 invasion range 7 9 pet owner rights 5 10 climate change 4 October

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