Visual Narratives in the Attention Era

Science Communication on Digital Networks

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the role of visual narratives in contemporary science communication, understood as the set of practices involved in the public mediation of scientific knowledge within digital contexts. Drawing on a qualitative and theoretical-documentary approach, it examines how infographics, short videos, and interactive resources operate in the construction of epistemic authority, influence processes of scientific literacy, and impact dynamics of informational justice on digital platforms. It is argued that such formats not only expand the reach of science but also subject it to algorithmic regimes of visibility and attention logics that reconfigure criteria of legitimacy and public recognition. The findings reveal tensions between the democratization of knowledge and the commodification of scientific visibility, indicating the need for public policies aimed at fostering visual literacy education and ensuring algorithmic transparency. It is concluded that visuality currently constitutes a strategic field of epistemic dispute, with direct implications for the relationship between science, education, and the public sphere.