Opponents of climate action use social media to spread climate fake news and derail support for climate action.
You can help us fight back.
During the election campaign, we invited people to submit any suspicious content they spotted online, so we could monitor and conduct analysis on climate change misinformation during the campaign.
We are still analysing everything that was sent in, and also working with colleagues at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue to investigate the nature and reach of false information about climate change during the election. We will expect to have further analysis to share in the coming weeks.
At this point, though, it seems fair to say that, thankfully, climate change disinformation did not dominate the election. Overwhelmingly, the public elected MPs who accepted the science of climate change and supported action to tackle it. The more dire general warnings about the General Election being overrun by online disinformation and deep fakes also did not come to pass.
This is a huge relief. However, we would caution against complacency. In our view disinformation remains a significant threat to UK democracy, particularly at the local level.
Climate disinformation, including manipulation of social media by networks linked to foreign states, has the potential to disrupt the government’s vital pledge to deliver clean energy by 2030.
We will be encouraging the new government to address this threat by:
- Ensuring social media platforms are required by regulation to address the design flaws which currently make them such fertile ground for disinformation
- Recognising the ease with which bad actors and/or foreign influence operations can manipulate online discourse, and not allowing inauthentic, online backlashes to derail the decarbonisation agenda.
You can be our eyes and ears in the fight back against climate disinformation
Help us reveal the climate lies opponents of climate action are spreading. These shadowy actors love to whip up controversy about local issues, like speed limits, cycle lanes or traffic restrictions. The groups and individuals peddling climate disinformation often target local social media pages and groups, where they are harder for national organisations to spot.
We need your help - you can flag anything you see which doesn't look quite right. We've got a team of experts ready to analyse and investigate everything you send in and we'll use all the evidence you help gather to build the case with tech platforms and regulators that more needs to be done to tackle disinformation in the future.
DO keep your eyes peeled and send us screenshots of anything that doesn’t look right.
There is no ‘wrong’ answer – if you’re not sure whether something is or isn’t climate denial, send it in.
DON’T share climate fake news online, even if you are trying to de-bunk it.
This only helps it spread. Share it with us instead.
How can I spot Climate Fake News?
Those who want to block climate action no longer pursue outright climate denial in the way they used to, because they know it doesn’t wash with the public. Instead, they sow new, subtler forms of climate denial’ that now make up at least 70% of online climate misinformation.1
New Climate Denial can look like:2
- Scare stories about green technologies - like electric vehicles exploding or heat pumps being expensive and ineffective.
- Claims that clean energy won’t work –and that we need fossil fuels to lead good lives.
- Exaggerated or unbalanced arguments that climate policies are harmful – they will limit our freedom, be too expensive or harm the environment in other ways.
- Conspiracy theories using buzzwords like “climate lockdown”, “global elites”, “the great reset” and “climate scam”
- The impacts of global warming will be beneficial - or not that bad.
- Content that doubts the credentials or motives of climate scientists or politicians who advocate green policies.
- Fake content – e.g. “deepfake” videos and audio – apparently showing high profile green figures saying something scandalous.
- Authoritative looking figures casting doubt on key green policies.
- Content that makes climate advocates (or their claims) seem absurd and alarmist.
The list is growing all the time, and it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is true, what is false, what is exaggerated or what is mis-represented. But the intention is almost always the same: to slow climate action by spreading fear, mistrust, or confusion.
Why are you doing this?
We are worried that climate misinformation is increasing and is negatively influencing public discourse and political action on climate.
We are particularly worried that the campaigning in the run-up to global elections will see a proliferation of climate misinformation and we want to highlight this to the big tech platforms, and to relevant regulators, and urge them to act to protect the integrity of the information we are all exposed to.
What will you do with my screenshots?
We will assess the submissions we receive for emerging themes, in order to inform more rigorous investigative work. We may want to forward any particularly outrageous / egregious examples with regulators or journalists, but we will always ask your permission first.