big ones digital platforms They became “accomplices” of terrorism climate denialism. Here is a new report disinformation And climate change The report analyzes the policies adopted by the world’s most popular social networks, with Twitter (renamed X) ranked the worst.
The study was prepared by Climate Action Against Disinformation, an alliance of international climate organizations. Green Peacetakes an in-depth look at content moderation policies Aim, on Pinterest, YouTube, tiktok And X. Based on 21 requirements, it categorizes these platforms into a points system that lets you easily see how the vast majority of them fail.
The worst stop is old Twitter. The company owned by Elon Musk only gets one point and is rewarded for having this policy. privacy easily accessible and readable. But the social network does not take measures to reduce the spread of climate misinformation, allow users to monetize fraud, operate with transparency or inform the public about its decision-making process.
The study only acknowledges Pinterest, and barely confirms it: most networks do not have effective anti-fraud policies and do not implement what they promise
Twitter’s demoting
The study’s authors emphasize that the company’s acquisition by the controversial tech mogul “creates uncertainty about which policies are still in place and which are not.” In a statement of intent, Twitter stopped banning lies about Covid-19 just days after Musk’s acquisition was made official. Changes that have since been promoted to protect free speech have accelerated misinformation and hate messages.
Musk said in 2018 that climate change is “the biggest threat facing humanity this century, outside of Artificial Intelligence.” He is also the executive director Tesla’sis a company dedicated to production. electric vehicles. However, he also made misleading statements, such as claiming in June that agriculture “does not have a significant impact” on the climate. He also constantly reinforces his conspiratorial messages. far right.
You can’t say that X’s tension is a surprise. Last December, City University London research found there would be more tweets and retweets in 2022 “terminology is skeptical about this” climate“A total of 850,000 in any year since Twitter was founded in 2006. Another report in August found that 48% of Twitter environmentalists They left the platform after Musk’s acquisition.
Others not recorded
X is the worst stop, but the study does not support other platforms analyzed. YouTube gets only six points; Facebook And instagram, eight; And tiktok, nine. The only one who barely approves on PinterestBy giving 12 points, they “show that they lead the industry.”
But the scenario is worrying. Climate Action Against Disinformation highlights that the vast majority of these digital spaces, visited every day by billions of users from around the world, do not have effective or consistent policies in place to stop climate hoaxes. Although YouTube, Meta and TikTok have promised changes, there is a “lack of enforcement” of the rules when it comes to the issue.
This problem has been further accelerated by the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. coronavirus and the 2020 United States presidential elections. Last year, the weak economic outlook caused Silicon Valley giants to change strategies and make major workforce cuts. Many layoffs have weakened content moderation teams, opening the door to misinformation.