How dangerous is climate misinformation?

On Thursday, April 22 at 19:30 GMT:
Climate change is scientific fact, but for decades the science has been denied by some. The result is public disengagement and political paralysis.

Climate disinformation and misinformation are thriving on social media. Research commissioned by a coalition of environmental organisations found that a definable group of people were responsible for spreading the majority of fake or only partially true stories about the climate. The research tracked climate denial conversations using Twitter hashtags and discovered that this group was posting on average four times as much as climate scientists, experts and campaigners.

The major social platforms say they are working to root out such misinformation. For example, some climate change posts on Facebook in the UK are now labelled with a banner that directs users to verified data from Facebook’s Climate Science Information Center.

But activists say it’s not enough, and worry that it’s too little, too late.

In this episode, we’ll take a look at climate misinformation and ask what impact it is having on public opinion.

This is one of four episodes of The Stream in support of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

In this episode of The Stream, we are joined by:
Mark Herstgaard, @markhertsgaard
Executive Director, Covering Climate Now
coveringclimatenow.org

Seana Davis, @Seana_Davis
Misinformation specialist