Climate Disinformation
Friends of the Earth works to reduce the spread of disinformation that potentially affects all of our campaigns. As technology and media companies consolidate their power, our fundamental ability to campaign on any issue is threatened, as corporate polluters gain more control over the basic communications systems that are needed for social change and democracy itself.
Our program has been in development since 2018, when we brought together the U.S. environmental community to look at the broad threats of new communications technologies–from disinformation to surveillance, from deep-fakes to algorithmic discrimination. We pressure companies and Congress to reduce disinformation and ensure that the free speech of individuals is not limited by corporate actors, foreign influence, or coordinated radical networks like QAnon. While we are focused currently on climate change disinformation perpetuated by fossil fuel companies and their inauthentic networks, our work will continue to center the voices and experiences of people who are affected by multiple types of corporate and technological control.
Our program has been deliberately intersectional from the outset, realizing that many of the same organizations and people online that deny climate change, also deny rights for women, discriminate against people of color, limit voter access, and question public health science. Our coalition has co-developed cross-issue networks with Change The Terms, a coalition that has pressured Facebook to remove hate speech online.
The corporatization and centralization of our communications channels is a threat to American and progressive values, and can only be effectively fought if we stand in unity with other movements.
New technology like artificial intelligence (AI) is entering increasingly widespread use with essentially no safety checks at all.
Disinformation is a threat to the stability of democracy and undermines our ability to tackle nearly every problem we face — from addressing climate change to securing LGBTQ+ rights to ensuring public health.
The only path to progress is to do the reverse: unite and demand social media companies disclose their data and be held accountable for their role in perpetuating this existential threat.
It’s hard enough to make strides when it comes to climate action. Green-lighting blatant lies about the scale of the climate crisis cannot continue
WASHINGTON – Today, new research from Roots and Friends of the Earth, commissioned with Purpose, has revealed the proliferation of climate disinformation narratives surrounding extreme weather events in Latin America. The report highlights how these events, due to their high visibility, multifaceted nature, and emotional impact, serve…
Companies must stop treating Spanish communities as second-class citizens and enforce stronger standards to reduce targeted disinformation.
A toxic and fossil-fueled minority is drowning out the voices of science and reason and social media platforms are complicit.