An investigation carried out by Global Witness found that despite promising to take action to curb climate disinformation, Facebook’s algorithm continues to suggest content that denies the existence of man-made climate change.
Citing a recent study conducted by Cornell University, the report said that over 99.9% of scientists agree on the correlation between human activity and climate change. Despite the overwhelming acceptance of the fact within the scientific community, Facebook’s algorithm fails to reflect this reality.
In a simulated experiment, Global Witness studied the online experience of a climate-sceptic user on the platform. Of the 18 pages Facebook recommended to the user, only one did not contain any climate disinformation. In contrast, 12 of them propagated climate disinformation, highlighted content that denied the existence of human-induced global warming and dismissed measures aimed at combating the climate crisis.
We all know disinformation is one of the biggest threats to our society as it prevents us from acting on important social issues such as climate change. pic.twitter.com/kEH6VDVX4V
— 🇵🇭Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (@YACAPhilippines) April 12, 2022
In fact, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted during his congressional testimony last April that climate disinformation was “a big issue” on the platform. In an effort to control this, the tech giant set up a ‘climate science centre,’ an information hub designed to ‘connect people with science-based information on climate change’. The social media platform also doubled down on flagging climate-related content by directing users to the climate science centre. In addition, the company announced a $1 million grant program to support organisations working to combat climate misinformation.
Despite these efforts, however, the latest investigation found that only 22% of climate disinformation posts had been flagged by the climate science centre. Moreover, while the user was infrequently referred to the centre, they were simultaneously and actively encouraged to follow pages that almost exclusively supported theories of climate disinformation. The report thus concluded that the social media website’s algorithm continues to recommend pages with content promoting theories that emphasise that the climate crisis is a hoax.
Science has been politicized and turned into a partisan wedge. Whether it’s climate change or COVID-19, rampant disinformation has been weaponized by the radical right to try and win power, with devastating effects on our national discourse.
— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) March 20, 2022
“Our findings suggest that Facebook could well be radicalising users who, once they arrive on anti-climate science pages, are driven to more extreme climate disinformation,” the organisation said.
In fact, Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen explained to the British parliament last year that the social media website’s recommendation system “amplifies divisive, polarising, extreme content” that “gets hyper-concentrated in 5% of the population.” Haugen went on to caution that “you only need 3% of the population on the streets to have a revolution, and that’s dangerous.”
Crucially, Haugen, who was a product manager on the civic misinformation team at Facebook, has also previously revealed that the social media giant repeatedly chose “profit over safety” when it came to clamping down on misinformation and hate speech. In fact, she alleged that Facebook aided in the organisation of the January 6 Capitol riot by failing to curb hate speech against Joe Biden.
In response to the results of the investigation by Global Witness, Facebook said that for several months after the platform “announced the initial experiment of informational labels in the UK,” it “did not completely roll out our labelling program.”
“Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. Simply put, they are lying." - @antonioguterres
— Global Witness (@Global_Witness) April 7, 2022
This is #greenwashing in a nutshell - pretending to be more climate-friendly than you actually are. Find out more: https://t.co/NErjlGI7uy pic.twitter.com/pACGZdiurQ
As part of its recommendations, Global Witness suggested that governments “legislate against the power of Big Tech” that helps “shape our realities in dangerous and divisive ways,” and “threaten to derail progress toward tackling the greatest challenge our planet collectively faces.” The organisation also encouraged Facebook and other social media companies to “produce transparent, public-facing plans to meaningfully reduce the spread of climate disinformation on their platforms” and “monitor and report on climate disinformation.”