Make Think Tanks Cool Again

Naomi Seibt is a 19-year-old German teen with a large online following. However, her fame hasn’t come from TikTok dances or makeup tutorials: Seibt has instead garnered notoriety online from her videos discussing climate change. Specifically, Seibt has been billed as the “anti-Greta,” or climate skeptics’ answer to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen climate-change activist. Though Seibt is significantly less famous than Thunberg, her niche within the online punditry sphere has garnered her a speaking slot at the Conservative Political Action Conference and interviews with Piers Morgan and Dana Perino, among others. 

How is this relevant to the issue of think tanks? For the early part of her career, Seibt was a fellow at the Heartland Institute, a think-tank specializing in climate skepticism. She was officially announced as a fellow at Heartland in February 2020, though she has since broken ties with the organization. Heartland is well-funded (the think tank has ties to the formidable Mercer family) and well-connected; on top of that, they have arguably expanded their reach much further through their connection with Seibt. The nature of Seibt’s content fits well with the auspices of a think tank’s mission: Seibt frames her criticism of climate science (including “debunking” IPCC reports) as mere skeptical inquiry or at most pushback against the supposed hegemony of consistent scientific evidence.  She frames her own analysis as cool, detached "realism" in contrast to Thunberg's more emotive "alarmism." 

Though Seibt’s content and views may be of concern, the Heartland-Seibt partnership may offer a new model by which think tanks can potentially expand their relevance. (This model would likely be limited to think tanks that have a clear “angle” on a widely known issue, as even the most adept influencer is unlikely to capture an audience by discussing the finer points of tax policy.) Seibt’s platforms–YouTube, CPAC, Fox News–are likely to capture the attention of mainstream audiences; the former two in particular will net young audiences. Even if Seibt’s audience doesn’t necessarily transfer to Heartland, her influence could begin to shift the opinion of a young cohort in Heartland’s preferred direction–and a young cohort engaging with political content online is likely going to vote. Specific ideology aside, the Heartland-Seibt partnership arguably provides a blueprint by which similar organizations can take advantage of social media and influencer culture to expand their reach, increase their relevance, and possibly even fundraise in the future.