Global Dynamics of Climate Change Imagery: Emotional and Engagement Effects Across Visual Frames on Twitter/X

This study examines how climate change is visually framed on Twitter/X and how these frames influence users’ emotional responses and engagement across languages. Using automated image analysis of over three million images posted between 2019 and 2022, we identify nine dominant visual frames. “Public Engagement: Politics & Events” was most prevalent, interactive visuals such as memes generated the highest engagement but predominantly negative response in user comments. By contrast, we find more positive responses for solution-focused frames, but lower levels of engagement. These results underscore the value of automated image analysis in uncovering culturally nuanced patterns in visual climate communication.