Disentangling Greenwashing Discourse: A Topic and Sentiment Analysis of Public Engagement on Twitter

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41110%2F25%3A103301" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41110/25:103301 - isvavai.cz</a>

Nalezeny alternativní kódy

RIV/60460709:41210/25:103301

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://www.acadlore.com/article/CIS/2025_13_2/cis130210" target="_blank" >https://www.acadlore.com/article/CIS/2025_13_2/cis130210</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.56578/cis130210" target="_blank" >10.56578/cis130210</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Disentangling Greenwashing Discourse: A Topic and Sentiment Analysis of Public Engagement on Twitter

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Greenwashing—defined as the strategic misrepresentation of corporate environmental practices—has emerged as a focal point of critical discussion on social media platforms. In this study, discourse related to greenwashing on Twitter was analyzed to uncover key thematic structures, sentiment dynamics, and polarization patterns. A total of 308,075 tweets authored by 148,881 unique users between 1 January 2015 and 31 January 2023 were collected and subjected to topic modelling and sentiment analysis. Ten primary themes were identified: (1) Sustainability and Marketing, (2) Climate Change and Fossil Fuels, (3) International Summits and Activism, (4) The Green Deal, (5) Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investments, (6) Plastic Waste, (7) Fast Fashion, (8) The Automotive Industry, (9) Deforestation, and (10) Food and Agriculture. Sentiment analysis, conducted using the Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner (VADER), revealed a predominantly critical tone across the dataset. Negative sentiment was detected in 35.54% of tweets, while only 12.86% conveyed a positive stance; the remaining 51.6% were classified as neutral. These findings underscore the pervasive skepticism towards corporate environmental claims and highlight the perceived dissonance between green marketing narratives and actual corporate behavior. Furthermore, the study illustrates how public sentiment clusters around specific themes, suggesting issue-based polarization in perceptions of environmental credibility. By integrating topic modelling with sentiment polarity analysis, this research offers an empirical framework for evaluating public discourse surrounding greenwashing. The insights derived may inform both corporate sustainability communication strategies and policy interventions aimed at fostering transparency and accountability. Overall, the evidence points to an urgent need for more authentic, verifiable, and ethically aligned environmental messaging to restore public trust in sustainability initiatives.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Disentangling Greenwashing Discourse: A Topic and Sentiment Analysis of Public Engagement on Twitter

Popis výsledku anglicky

Greenwashing—defined as the strategic misrepresentation of corporate environmental practices—has emerged as a focal point of critical discussion on social media platforms. In this study, discourse related to greenwashing on Twitter was analyzed to uncover key thematic structures, sentiment dynamics, and polarization patterns. A total of 308,075 tweets authored by 148,881 unique users between 1 January 2015 and 31 January 2023 were collected and subjected to topic modelling and sentiment analysis. Ten primary themes were identified: (1) Sustainability and Marketing, (2) Climate Change and Fossil Fuels, (3) International Summits and Activism, (4) The Green Deal, (5) Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investments, (6) Plastic Waste, (7) Fast Fashion, (8) The Automotive Industry, (9) Deforestation, and (10) Food and Agriculture. Sentiment analysis, conducted using the Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner (VADER), revealed a predominantly critical tone across the dataset. Negative sentiment was detected in 35.54% of tweets, while only 12.86% conveyed a positive stance; the remaining 51.6% were classified as neutral. These findings underscore the pervasive skepticism towards corporate environmental claims and highlight the perceived dissonance between green marketing narratives and actual corporate behavior. Furthermore, the study illustrates how public sentiment clusters around specific themes, suggesting issue-based polarization in perceptions of environmental credibility. By integrating topic modelling with sentiment polarity analysis, this research offers an empirical framework for evaluating public discourse surrounding greenwashing. The insights derived may inform both corporate sustainability communication strategies and policy interventions aimed at fostering transparency and accountability. Overall, the evidence points to an urgent need for more authentic, verifiable, and ethically aligned environmental messaging to restore public trust in sustainability initiatives.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

50204 - Business and management

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Challenges in Sustainability

ISSN

2297-6477

e-ISSN

2297-6477

Svazek periodika

13

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

2

Stát vydavatele periodika

CZ - Česká republika

Počet stran výsledku

21

Strana od-do

295-315

Kód UT WoS článku

001524139800010

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-105010969478