Thread by @jkingy

As #COP27 reaches a (fraught) finale in Sharm el-Sheikh, a short 🧵 on the state of climate mis-/disinformation and our findings from the @caadcoalition Intelligence Unit:

1) The events of 2022 have turbocharged an already well-funded and transnational ecosystem for disinfo…

2) Russia’s war in Ukraine and the subsequent disruption to energy supply chains have spurred new (or revived old) anti-climate attacks - related content is trending in online communities everywhere from the US and Brazil to Germany and Australia.

3) Big Oil and Gas, climate delayists and other vested interests are falsely attributing blame for these events on “the cult of #NetZero”, investing $ ten of millions to convince citizens that fossil fuels are essential to avoid economic collapse.

4) In tandem, state actors and lobbyists are attempting to “wokewash” their opposition to climate action, arguing that the green transition constitutes a form of “neo-colonialism” or even an abuse of human rights in areas of the Global South. We have seen this before with EVs…

…where the mining of rare earth minerals in countries like DRC (places with poor human rights records) is used to tarnish EV’s “green” credentials and justify the status quo of polluting technologies. Co-option of messaging from progressive movements is especially clear among…

…Russian and Chinese propaganda networks, as well as the African fossil fuel lobby - entities like the African Energy Chamber (and their figurehead NJ Ayuk) were continually platformed in Sharm, arguing in direct opposition to regional climate justice movements and negotiators.

5) Meanwhile, outright denial and conspiracies about a “climate scam” or “climate hoax” are once again being mainstreamed, including by verified accounts who achieve hundreds of thousands of likes, shares and views for their content on a near-daily basis.

6) Amidst this all, attacks on climate movements are increasingly extreme, with explicit calls to violence and messaging that implies activists are directly responsible for “mass psychopathy”, cost of living crises or food shortages. Rhetoric is rife with transphobia and ableism.

7) As chaos reigns among the pundits and grifters, Carbon Major companies and their front groups continue to greenwash across social media and the wider web - we documented individual entities running more than 850 ads in a single day to oppose Net Zero, with 000s of impressions.

*CONCLUSION*

The situation is hugely concerning and demands an urgent response across the board - from improving Big Tech Terms of Service and Community Guidelines to establishing standards among ad tech providers, financial services authorities, media regulators and publishers

Learn more about @ISDglobal and @caadcoalition’s work in this space with the following resources:

- “Deny, Deceive, Delay - Documenting and Responding to Climate Mis- and Disinformation at COP26 and Beyond”

isdglobal.org/isd-publicatio…