An independent think tank, called InfluenceMap, found that in the first half of 2020, ads on Facebook calling the climate crisis a hoax were viewed at least 8 million times in the US.
Fifty-one climate disinformation ads were identified, including ones denying the reality or the need to take action against the climate crisis and that fossil fuels are a non-existential threat. Conservative groups paid for the advertisements, though sources of funding are unknown.
In September, Facebook clarified that it was entirely “committed to tackling climate misinformation” as it announced a new climate science information center. It stated: “Climate change is real. The science is unambiguous, and the need to act grows more urgent by the day.”
Facebook uses fact-checkers to review advertisements and ban false ones, but the company highlights that it’s “not meant to interfere with individual expression, opinions, and debate.”
Elizabeth Warren, the senator of Massachusetts, explained:
InfluenceMap’s devastating report reveals how Facebook lets climate deniers spread dangerous junk to millions of people. We have repeatedly asked Facebook to close the loopholes that allow misinformation to run rampant on its platform, but its leadership would rather make a quick buck while our planet burns and communities – disproportionately black and brown – suffer. Facebook must be held accountable for its role in the climate crisis.
The ads cost roughly $42,000 to run and appeared to be targeted to men over 55-years-old in rural US states. In July, Warren and other senators wrote to Facebook, demanding it to close the loopholes.
Dylan Tanner, the Executive Director and Founder of InfluenceMap noted:
Climate disinformation adverts will be of concern to advertisers like Unilever and others who are clearly concerned about climate, both from the viewpoint of the company’s risk and also being on the same platform as these ads.
Some of the climate denial ads, including one paid for by the conservative group PragerU, were still running on Facebook until October 1. PragerU’s headline wrote, “Make no doubt about it: the hysteria over climate change is to sell you Big Government control.” The attached video said that “fossil fuels are not an existential threat, and the Green New Deal is an existential threat.”
Craig Strazzeri, PragerU’s Chief Marketing Officer, said:
We are not running any disinformation ads. Apparently, ‘disinformation’ means anything Facebook or the left disagrees with. The ad in question is an educational video on the truth about the Green New Deal.
Another climate change denial ad, which ran in April, was paid for by the right-wing non-profit organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA), whose “mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.” TPUSA’s ad was headlined: “Conservatives Are Pro-Science, While Leftists Are Pro-Panic! Climate Change Is A HOAX! #ThinkForYourself #EarthDay.”
InfluenceMap’s report claims the ads seem to be personalized to different audiences. Those seen mostly by 18- to 34-year-olds challenged the future impact of climate change, while ads seen by viewers over-55-years-old often questioned climate science’s credibility.
A Facebook spokesperson clarified:
We prohibit ads that include claims debunked by third-party fact-checkers, and we are investigating the findings of this report. We work to reduce the spread of climate misinformation on Facebook, and we recently launched a climate science information center to connect people with factual information from the world’s leading climate organizations.
The United Nations body for evaluating the science associated with climate change is called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). IPCC is crystal clear that climate change is not a hoax; global warming is real, endangering our future and caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. This conclusion is accepted by governments worldwide.
