The Technical Oversight Authority released a report today in which they analyzed 195 different Facebook pages and groups. In it, they counted no less than 818,000 messages downplaying or denying the climate crisis one step further. In total, these messages are viewed by about 1.36 million people per day. Only 3.6 percent of the false messages were checked by the social media platform.
However, Facebook recently announced that it will invest $1 million in fighting fake news about climate change. Right now, little or nothing has changed, according to the researchers’ harsh judgment.
The timing of the analysis is not accidental. Facebook’s Real Oversight Board is calling on governments to also consider the impact of climate misinformation during the Glasgow Climate Summit. “Our data shows that Facebook is one of the largest providers of climate misinformation in the world,” the researchers said.
Facebook itself claims to be fighting against misinformation by directing users to the Center for Climate Change Science, a page that lists good facts, tips and resources.
