By Shane M Hanlon

Over the past month, I have noticed a new type of #scicomm emerging. It’s not through a new technology, rather, it’s exploiting an existing one. Spurred by the Tweets of President Donald Trump, scientists and science-enthusiasts alike have begun to insert science facts, or #scijack, into tweet threads responding to President Trump, as well as other prominent political figures. The idea is this – many, many individuals view the tweets and response threads of these prominent figures. So, why not add some science facts into those threads as a mechanism to promote public understanding and engagement in science?

I had planned to write a full post on this subject; however, Paige Jarreau over at From the Lab Bench beat me to it (and frankly dove in deeper than I would’ve anyways). So, I encourage y’all to read her post, Should Scientists SciJack Trump’s Tweets?, where she also features current AGU AAAS Mass Media Fellow Shaena Montanari.

-Shane M Hanlon is a Senior Specialist with AGU’s Sharing Science program. Find him @ecologyofshane.