Böll·Europe Podcast #10 | Overheated: how climate misinformation goes viral on social media
Climate change and disinformation on social media: at the very first sight, these topics may appear unrelated. However, fostering the ecological transition in Europe, requires substantial effort in terms of shaping public discourse. Notably, debates occurring on social media are part of the public arena where citizens can be convinced about the need for an ecological transition. And, therefore, disinformation can have a huge impact on climate change-related attitudes. What is online climate change mis- and disinformation? Where does it take place and why? How does EU policy making play into all of this?
In this Böll·Europe Podcast episode, our guests explore the concerning rise of climate change disinformation on prominent social networks. It highlights how social media has exacerbated the weaponisation of climate change within the context of culture wars and revealing the pivotal players who amplify climate misinformation and disinformation within online communities. Our guests also shed light on the climate disinformation policies implemented by very large platforms and describe the objective of the Digital Services Act in this regard.
To uncover this complex and fascinating topic, our host Gail Rego talks to Jennie King and Ana Romero-Vicente:
- Jennie King is Head of Climate Research and Policy at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). She has spearheaded investigations on climate denialism and ‘discourses of delay’ and is the co-author of ISD’s flagship reports such as ‘Deny, Deceive, Delay’. She currently manages the COP Intelligence Units on behalf of Climate Action Against Disinformation’.
- Ana Romero-Vicente analyses and counteracts disinformation at EU DisinfoLab. She is apprised of the Spanish disinformation landscape and has published several international investigations on the monetisation of disinformation. She currently addresses climate misinformation and monitors audio-visual social media such as YouTube and Tik Tok.
For more information:
- Check out the recording of the webinar “Polluting the truth about climate change”, an event jointly hosted by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and EU DisinfoLab
- Read the factsheet "Platforms' policies on climate change misinformation" by Ana Romero-Vicente
- Read more content on Disinformation | Misinformation
Böll·Europe is the podcast of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union office in Brussels, presented by Gail Rego.