Story at a glance
- A new report conducted by watchdog the Real Facebook Oversight Board and environmental nonprofit Stop Funding Heat was released Thursday.
- The report analyzed 195 Facebook pages and found over 48,700 posts spreading climate misinformation.
- Data shows that interactions with these posts, such as through comments, likes, and shares, has increased by 76.7 percent in 2021.
An analysis of tens of thousands of Facebook posts has revealed that the distribution of climate misinformation on Facebook is “increasing quite substantially,” according to a new report released Thursday.
The report, conducted by watchdog the Real Facebook Oversight Board and environmental nonprofit Stop Funding Heat, analyzed 195 Facebook pages and found over 48,700 posts spreading climate misinformation. It’s estimated that the posts combined garnered between approximately 818,000 and 1.36 million views each day.
Some of the pages and groups researched were named “Climate Change is Crap” and “Climate Realism,” and data shows that interactions with these posts, such as through comments, likes, and shares, has increased by 76.7 percent in 2021.
The findings come amid the United Nations’ COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
Though the report shone a light on the spread of misinformation on the platform, it did acknowledge commitments the company has taken to combat climate change.
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“It is worth acknowledging from the outset that Facebook has attained impressive achievements when it comes to its sustainability policies. Facebook also recently announced a $1 million project to support work on climate misinformation,” the report reads.
In a Nov. 1 news release, Facebook/Meta highlighted its reaching net zero emissions in its global operations and encouraged the nations attending the COP26 summit to enact stronger policies to reach net zero emissions as well.
“Every day we see people use our services to raise awareness, organize for action, and make their voices heard on a wide range of environmental issues,” Facebook said. “We want to play our part by helping people find accurate, science-led information while also tackling misinformation.”
However, in the new report, the Real Facebook Oversight Board and Stop Funding Heat state that without strict action taken to combat the spread of misinformation on its platform, Facebook is only undermining and profiting from it.
“The reality is that all of this activity is totally undermined by the climate misinformation it profits from in the first place,” the report states. “As a big tech platform, and one of the world’s largest companies, it is Facebook’s responsibility to be a net positive in this area. That means combating the problem head on.”
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