Science vs. social media: Why climate change denial still thrives online

Social media is still not doing enough to stop misinformation denying the existence and causes of climate change. 

That’s the finding of a review of climate-related conversations on social media platforms by the public interest research organization Advance Democracy.

Despite company pledges to crack down, falsehoods, hoaxes and conspiracy theories circulated with few warning labels or links to credible information in 2023, contributing to a dramatic surge in the number of posts denying climate change last year, according to the report shared exclusively with USA TODAY.

Nowhere was that surge more evident than on X, formerly Twitter, where the number of posts containing terms linked to climate change denial more than tripled for the second year in a row, Advance Democracy found. 

Advance Democracy saw a significant increase in posts that dismiss climate change as an exaggeration or a hoax on Facebook.

Of the 10 Facebook posts with the most interactions, eight either denied climate change or promoted conspiracy theories. None included a link to Facebook’s Climate Science Information Center or a fact check.

TikTok also failed to rein in falsehoods. Even after the short-form video platform adopted a policy prohibiting climate misinformation last year, videos that deny or downplay climate change were viewed millions of times on the app.

Advance Democracy says that in its review only YouTube has improved. Eight of nine specific climate change denial phrases identified in Advance Democracy’s 2022 report are now accompanied by scientific information on climate change on the platform.

“When it comes to misinformation about climate change, YouTube’s systems work to raise up content from high-quality sources in search results and recommendations," YouTube said in a statement to USA TODAY, adding that it strives to "connect viewers to additional context from third parties like the United Nations."

The other companies − X, Facebook and TikTok − did not comment directly on the Advance Democracy report.

The stakes have never been higher, according to Michael Mann, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Climate change is one of the most contentious debates raging on social media platforms which have emerged as a critical battleground to control the narrative about climate change – especially for the TikTok generation, Mann said.

"Social media is a primary means by which young people − those most likely to see the worst consequences of climate change − get their information today," he said. "This trend suggests that bad actors have made a concerted effort to weaponize social media in a way that is especially targeted toward young people."

For years, climate scientists have pushed social media companies to identify and remove posts and videos denying climate change, disputing its causes, or underplaying its effects. 

Social media companies say their policies prohibit climate change misinformation that undermines scientific consensus − such as denying the existence of climate change or the factors that contribute to it − while allowing discussions about climate change policies or personal views about extreme weather events.

John Cook, a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia, says the rising wave of climate misinformation shows that companies are still not taking the threat of climate misinformation seriously enough.

“What the platforms are doing is inadequate,” Cook said.

After years of building robust content moderation systems, social media companies facing political pressure and economic headwinds have pulled back on gatekeeping, part of an industry trend that some fear could roll back safeguards that clamp down on misinformation.

X has not changed its official policy on climate change misinformation under the new ownership of Elon Musk, who took over the platform in October 2022. But Musk has gutted the platform’s content moderation operations and slashed staff responsible for monitoring misinformation. 

“The rollback of moderation policies and the apparent reduction of content moderation staff appears to have had a substantial impact on the prevalence of climate change misinformation on social media platforms,” Daniel Jones, president of Advance Democracy, told USA TODAY.

Social media posts reviewed by Advance Democracy are routinely peppered with references to “climate scam” and “climate cult” or claims that global warming is a hoax or that climate scientists are con artists.

When smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed much of the U.S. last year, for example, conspiracy theorists falsely claimed that the fires were intentionally set to promote a fake climate emergency.

Though the public perception of climate change is shifting, it remains a politically divisive issue, with Democrats and Republicans growing further apart in the last decade in how they gauge the threat, according to the Pew Research Center.

Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats (78%) say climate change is a major threat to the country, up from about 6 in 10 a decade ago. About 1 in 4 Republicans describe climate change as a major threat, about the same as 10 years ago.

Few in the GOP deny that burning oil, gas and coal has produced gasses that are heating the planet but many climate skeptics see the proposed solutions – weaning off fossil fuels in favor of solar, wind and other energy sources – as a threat to the economy and Americans’ livelihoods and freedoms.

“Social media is a primary means by which young people – those most likely to see the worst consequences of climate change – get their information today,” Mann said. 

Scientists say the warming of the planet is chiefly caused by human activities that emit heat-trapping greenhouse gasses. The effects include higher sea levels, drought, wildfires, increased precipitation and wetter hurricanes.

Climate skeptics use social media to undercut evidence of human involvement in climate change. Their tactics are often effective, misleading people and chilling debate, said Cook of the University of Melbourne.

The unchecked wave of climate misinformation is further eroding public understanding of climate change and public trust in science and scientists, researchers warn. 

The Center for Countering Digital Hate which recently reviewed videos on YouTube found that climate change skeptics are switching tactics to discredit the climate solutions proposed by scientists and the scientists themselves.