Communicating scientific uncertainty: Exploring science journalists’ understandings, challenges, and strategies

Science journalists are central intermediaries in communicating the uncertainties of science to the public. Socio-scientific issues like COVID-19 and climate change highlight the importance of addressing uncertainties to support informed decision-making while underscoring the complexities involved. Based on 13 semi-structured interviews with science journalists, this study links their conceptual understanding of scientific uncertainty to the strategies and challenges they face in communicating it. Results suggest that journalists primarily see uncertainty as the inability of science to provide simple answers to complex questions due to limited or conflicting evidence. They emphasize uncertainty's dual role: it helps explain how science generates knowledge and fosters trust when communicated effectively, yet it also causes confusion, frustration, and loss of trust if communicated poorly. Maintaining trust in science and journalism thus emerges as the meta-challenge in reporting uncertainty, for which journalists describe nine strategies, including contextualizing uncertainty and prioritizing realistic assessments over amplifying controversy.