The Socio-Epistemic Architecture of Climate Denial: Mapping Individual Trajectories and Alternative Credibility Criteria

Despite the broad scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change, the rejection or contestation of this consensus remains socially relevant. This study adopts a qualitative approach to understand climate denial as a process by analyzing individual trajectories of adherence to climate misinformation. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who expressed positions of denial, minimization, or contestation of the dominant scientific explanation of climate change. The findings indicate that questioning of the climate consensus most often emerges from informal exposure to digital content, particularly on social media and online platforms. These initial exposures are subsequently reinforced by closed informational ecosystems, often organized around private groups, where alternative criteria of credibility are consolidated, and dissenting figures are valued as legitimate authorities. A systematic delegitimization of institutional science was also observed, frequently associated with perceived political or economic agendas. A central finding of the study is the emergence of selective trust in science, in which scientific knowledge is accepted in domains such as medicine, biology, and technology but rejected in climatology. Additionally, the analyzed discourses reveal strong resistance to refutation and the absence of clear criteria for revising previously held positions. The study contributes to research in Environmental Education and Climate Literacy by demonstrating that climate denial should be understood as a socio-epistemic phenomenon rather than merely as a deficit of scientific knowledge.