Climate Disinformation is widespread on social media, and many companies have already pledged their action against it, but not all, as studies show that Elon Musk's X is lagging behind this initiative. The report claimed that X is ranking the lowest in taking the initiative and discussing the rampant climate disinformation available online, especially as it is considered harmful.
Fighting climate misinformation is something that the world is focusing on now, especially as it helps mislead people into various data and information.
Climate Disinformation: X Lags Behind [Reports]
An alliance of environmental groups and researchers called the Climate Action Against Disinformation Coalition released a new study regarding the social media platforms' actions toward this topic. Its report claimed that X is lagging among all platforms, ranking the lowest for its actions and policies in combating climate disinformation, which is still a recurring problem.
In its metrics, X only got one point for its actions against climate disinformation, as the alliance claimed that it lacked clear policies, no substantive public transparency mechanisms, and no evidence of policy enforcement.
The top platform in this survey is Pinterest, garnering 12 points, says the study, leading the industry on policies to combat and mitigate the spread of climate misinformation.
YouTube, TikTok, Meta: Are Its Actions Enough?
According to the CAAD's report, TikTok scored the second highest with 9 points, Meta with 8 points, and YouTube being the second-to-the-last with 6 points.
Still, there are many things these platforms lack, including clear universal definitions of climate misinformation, as well as privacy policies being difficult to read.
This problem was previously called out by the International Governmental Panel on Climate Change in 2022, urging action from social media companies to help stem this issue online.
Fighting Misinformation, Climate Fake News
Misinformation, in general, is already harmful to the public, especially as it contributes to the world's divide on certain topics, feeding on their vulnerability and susceptibility to get persuaded. That being said, the occurrence of Climate misinformation or fake news is also rampant, with TikTok previously pledging against these, vowing to remove it from the platform.
Various nonprofits have previously criticized Big Tech for their hand in allowing these kinds of information to be available on their platforms, with the likes of Meta and Twitter, with the short-word social media initially regarded as the worst.
Still, some make an effort to clamp down on climate change misinformation, with Pinterest taking it upon themselves to ban accounts that proliferate it.
A new study has yet again dived into the topic of climate disinformation and how it is fanned online, with almost all platforms criticized for their lack of enforcement despite initial corrective actions. Despite all of these, X seems to remain unbothered by this fake news phenomenon about the climate, having no clear policies and transparency with how it handles these.
