Explore the latest climate disinfo publications!

HEAT (Harmful Environmental Agendas & Tactics) findings offer a sharp new lens on how climate disinformation operates and evolves across European digital spaces. By analysing Germany, France, and the Netherlands, it reveals how false and misleading narratives cross borders, platforms, and ideological lines to distort climate discourse and hinder democratic engagement. The investigation focused on content circulating across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

The investigation also highlights a range of tactics used to amplify these narratives, including coordinated reposting, AI-generated content, localised framing, and the exploitation of cultural flashpoints.

These tactics were deployed by a wide range of actors, from grassroots conspiracy communities and ideological influencers to foreign-aligned networks. In many cases, distinctions between these groups blur as narratives and techniques converge.

From fringe to mainstream:

Conspiracies that once circulated only in fringe corners of the internet, such as geoengineering, HAARP, and ‘climate lockdowns’, now thrive in the mainstream.

These conspiracy theories have migrated to major platforms like Facebook, achieving scale through algorithmic amplification, comment hijacking, and emotionally resonant storytelling.

In each country studied, such narratives were not isolated, they were embedded in broader populist or ideological frameworks, often linked to culture war debates or scientific scepticism.

Telegram emerged as a central incubator for long-form conspiratorial content, which was often repackaged and recirculated across other platforms. While the HEAT investigation does not establish a direct link between hostile state actors and Telegram activity in the countries analysed, it documents notable overlaps in themes and narratives that later appear in state-aligned disinformation campaigns.

“The extent to which conspiracy narratives circulate transnationally was striking. Common narratives transcended geographic, linguistic, and thematic boundaries, indicating a globally interconnected conspiracy Milieu.” – HEAT analyst

Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour (CIB)

HEAT uncovered clear signs of Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour across Facebook, X, and other platforms. These included AI-generated personas, recycled disinformation scripts, and networked reposting tactics designed to obscure provenance and manufacture artificial engagement. In Germany, a cluster of fake accounts used identical language and varied visuals to evade moderation.

“The widespread use of ‘copypasta’ to amplify climate MDM across social media platforms is concerning and is leveraged by actors linked to foreign information manipulation and interference campaigns.” ­ – HEAT analyst

State-linked information laundering operations

The HEAT investigation uncovered climate disinformation efforts tied to Russian-aligned media ecosystems that used sophisticated laundering techniques.

Operations like the Portal Kombat network and rebranded Pravda domains disseminated multilingual, climate-sceptic, and conspiratorial content across X (formerly Twitter), fringe websites, and automated press portals.

These actors mimicked the structure of legitimate news media to obscure provenance, reframe narratives, and bypass moderation systems.

Rather than relying on organic traction through social networks like Telegram or Facebook, these campaigns leveraged strategic amplification and media mimicry to inject harmful content into the wider information ecosystem, positioning climate disinformation as a tool of geopolitical influence.

Platform gaps & EU policy blindspot

  • Platform responses to climate disinformation remain fragmented, inconsistent, and largely inadequate. While some companies have introduced limited policies, most continue to allow harmful climate narratives to spread. There is no shared definition, no standard enforcement protocol, and very little transparency around takedowns or algorithmic amplification.
  • As a result, misleading content circulates freely, often gaining more traction than verified science or official communications.
  • Crucially, this gap is not just a failure, it’s being exploited. The current absence of regulatory clarity allows platforms to treat climate disinformation as a low priority. Because the Digital Services Act (DSA) does not classify it as a systemic risk, platforms face no legal obligation to assess, report, or mitigate its impact. This loophole allows platforms to sidestep meaningful enforcement while maintaining plausible deniability.

  • The investigation also notes that institutional responses remain fragmented and often reactive. Without a coordinated policy and civil society framework to counter climate disinformation, strategic manipulation continues to fill the vacuum.

“Climate denial has evolved. Today it’s not about denying science, it’s about using climate narratives to delegitimise institutions and polarise societies.”
– HEAT policy expert

 Read the full report here.

The HEAT investigation was delivered by Logically and EU DisinfoLab. This content was produced under the HEAT project with support from the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF). The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.

A new AI-powered investigation reveals that climate disinformation isn’t just a social media problem it’s deeply embedded in mainstream French media.

The study, conducted by Data For Good, QuotaClimat and Science Feedback, flags dozens of misleading claims aired on TV and radio, even by top-rated broadcasters.

Key Findings

  1. 128 cases of verified climate disinformation aired over just three months in early 2025, an average of 10 per week.
  2. Sud Radio led the disinformation pack with 40 cases, despite a prior legal warning.
  3. CNews and BFM TV, two of France’s largest news channels, were also caught airing unchecked falsehoods.

Topics most targeted:

  • Renewable energy (50% of all cases)
  • Electric vehicles and mobility (47%)
  • Basic climate science denial (13%)

Disinformation included false claims that EVs pollute more than gas-powered cars and that France doesn’t need renewables due to nuclear power.

RFI, France Inter, France Culture, and Arte were praised as “watchdog” media, maintaining editorial integrity and accuracy.

                                     ***As the climate crisis accelerates, so does the urgency to hold all media accountable.***

In a study for The American Sunlight Project, Benjamin Shultz and Nina Jankowicz reveal how a sprawling Russian disinformation network dubbed “EcoBoost” is posing as grassroots environmental activists to infiltrate left-leaning movements online.

600+ fake X accounts have posted 245,000+ messages since June 2024, targeting Western democracies with AI-generated personas promoting climate causes,  while slipping in polarising content to erode trust, inflame political divides, and meddle in elections.

From amplifying Elon Musk and the Green Party to mocking Trudeau and Trump, the aim isn’t ideological: it’s chaos.

🌍 European citizens want change
A new study published in Nature Climate Change reveals:

  • 46.6% of EU citizens support banning fossil fuel ads; only 24.9% oppose it.
  • Support is strongest in Greece, France, Spain, and Italy (56–59%).

“A fossil ad ban sends out a powerful message,” said Thijs Bouman, study co-author.

Local governments lead the way

Some cities are moving faster than nations:

  • The Hague (Netherlands): First city to implement a comprehensive ban on fossil fuel-related advertising in both public and private spaces.

“Allowing fossil fuel ads while trying to reduce CO₂ is counterproductive,” claims Robert Barker, Deputy Mayor of The Hague

  • Saint-Gilles (Brussels, Belgium): Calls for a regional ban or climate tax on fossil ads to fund climate action.
  • Edinburgh, Sheffield, Sydney: Have already enacted partial bans in municipal spaces.

Media & PR: The hidden enablers
Fossil fuel companies are leveraging native advertising, which is ads disguised as news, as ExxonKnews.org reports. ExxonMobil’s “Future of Energy” ad on NYT is a prime example, still live despite having ended its algae fuel program in 2023.

A new npj Climate Action study shows these ads successfully shape public opinion, even after one exposure.

“There is no way to run native ads for fossil fuel companies without deceiving the public,” said Dr. Michelle Amazeen, Boston University and co-author of the study.

Media outlets and PR companies profit too:

NYT made $20 million from fossil clients (2020–2023).

According to DeSmog, PR giants like WPP and Havas continue to serve fossil accounts, despite losing B-Corp status or facing OECD complaints.

Regulators struggle to keep up
Advertising authorities are cracking down, but inconsistently:

UK’s ASA banned TotalEnergies ad for misleading portrayal of its energy mix. However, it cleared Shell ad, despite similar complaints, as Bloomberg informs. Critics say ASA is “endorsing greenwash.”

🌐 UN’s Guterres: Ban fossil ads now
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called last year for a global ban on fossil fuel advertising.

He requested media and PR agencies to stop “acting as enablers of planetary destruction.”(…) “Like tobacco ads, fossil fuel promotion must end. They are the godfathers of climate chaos.”

**And there is more… The whistleblower case against AMV BBDO** 

Greenwashing isn’t just a tactic used by Big Oil. Major consumer brands like Galaxy and Sheba (owned by Mars Inc.) have also come under fire for misleading sustainability claims.

Former AMV BBDO Creative Partner Polina Zabrodskaya raised concerns about false environmental messaging and abuses in supply chains, including child labor and ecological harm. She was suspended and ultimately pressured to resign. Her case highlights how the advertising industry silences dissenting voices, informs The Financial Times.

“How can we feed the world’s growing population without causing catastrophic climate breakdown?”

That was the urgent question posed in 2019 by a team of leading scientists from the EAT-Lancet Commission, who published a landmark report calling for a global shift toward more plant-based, climate-friendly diets. Their proposal aimed to improve human health while drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the food system.

And that was the beginning of a fierce backlash.

Six years later, an investigation by DeSmog reveal that the storm of online criticism the report faced wasn’t spontaneous. The Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA), a U.S.-based meat industry group, quietly launched a coordinated PR campaign to discredit the findings. They actively mobilized influencers, messaging strategies, and media outreach to paint the report as an attack on personal freedom, rural identity, and traditional diets.

What began as a scientific call for sustainable food systems quickly morphed into a culture war, where climate disinformation, emotional appeals, and political spin distorted the facts, and turned dinner plates into battlegrounds.

This research by Newsguard exposes how a climate-change denial website, ScienceofClimateChange.org, published a study claiming that global warming isn’t caused by humans. The lead author listed on the paper wasn’t a human, but Grok 3.

Climate change deniers quickly amplified the study on social media, calling it “proof” that the climate crisis is a hoax, with some even declaring that “AI has debunked the climate scam!”. They treated Grok’s involvement as a sign of credibility.

But the truth is, as highlighted in the article, that climate change is real and driven by human activities, and AI, while powerful, can be manipulated through biased prompts and misused to spread misinformation.

  1. The Heritage Foundation, architect of Trump’s radical Project 2025, is now targeting the European Union (informs DeSmog), aligning with far-right think tanks in Hungary and Poland to push a climate-obstructive, anti-EU agenda. At a closed-door meeting in Washington, groups like MCC (linked to Viktor Orbán) and Ordo Iuris (Poland) proposed dismantling EU institutions like the Commission and Court of Justice, replacing the bloc with a looser “European Community of Nations.”

Their agenda includes:

  • Rolling back EU climate policies, calling net-zero “madness.”
  • Undermining green regulation in favor of fossil fuel interests.
  • Spreading climate denial, as seen in aligned MEPs like Filip Turek.
  • Promoting “national sovereignty” as a vehicle for deregulation and anti-environmentalism. 

🇩🇪 The German case: An investigation reveals how U.S. right-wing think tanks linked to Donald Trump, including the Heritage Foundation and Atlas Network,are exporting their anti-climate agenda to Germany, as DeSmog informs. With support from local politicians, corporate lobbyists, and neoliberal institutes like Prometheus. CDU leader Friedrich Merz and allies are increasingly aligned with this transatlantic axis of climate obstruction.

Furthermore, Elon Musk’s public backing of Germany’s far-right AfD and his anti-climate messaging on X are amplifying transatlantic climate denial networks. Following the German elections, his influence is helping legitimize climate skepticism in national discourse, aligning with actors across the U.S. and Europe aiming to stall environmental policies and EU climate ambitions.

** For further information, read this data monitor from March 2025 by CAAD, German elections: AfD-led disinformation puts climate action at stake.

2- Czech MEP Filip Turek, a climate-skeptic and car industry influencer, has been appointed rapporteur on a key EU climate policy, while earning €10,000/month as an automotive consultant, informs DeSmog.

Critics warn this is a major conflict of interest, as Turek is now helping shape the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which directly impacts the industry he is paid to advise.

Turek, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2024, has called the EU Green Deal “one of the biggest scams in history” and frequently meets with automotive lobbyists. He has also aligned with the Heritage Foundation, raising ethical alarms. Watchdogs say his dual roles undermine the integrity of EU climate policymaking and are calling for urgent reform.

A report by InfluenceMap reveals that the fossil fuel industry is running a coordinated international campaign to obstruct building electrification policies, a key climate solution.

In the U.S., 26 states have passed laws blocking local “natural gas bans” for new buildings, pushed by utility companies and gas trade groups. Similar lobbying is happening across the EU and Australia, using a shared playbook:

Disinformation Strategies:
InfluenceMap identified a global strategy with three main fronts:

  • Public messaging and social media campaigns that frame electrification as expensive or restrictive.
  • Industry-funded front groups that appear to be grassroots citizen movements but act as lobbying organizations.
  • Direct lobbying and litigation aimed at blocking or reversing local climate policies.

The goal: keep new buildings hooked on fossil gas and delay the transition to clean energy, despite clear health and climate benefits from switching to electric heating and appliances.

A potentially game-changing climate story has been hiding in plain sight, until now. Starting next Monday, April 21, Covering Climate Now’s 89 Percent Project will highlight a pivotal but little-known fact: The overwhelming majority of people in the world, between 80 and 89%, according to a growing body of scientific studies, want their governments to take stronger climate action.

They are the silent climate majority. According to these studies, this overwhelming majority doesn’t realise that it is the majority, perhaps because that fact is not reflected in most news coverage or on social media.

The 89 Percent Project aims to change that.

From April 21 to 28, news outlets will run stories exploring such questions as: Who are the 89%? How does that number differ across countries (for example, the figure is 95% in Brazil, 89% in Nigeria, 80% in India, and 74% in the US)? How does it differ by gender, age, or economic status? What kinds of action do the 89% want their governments to take? Are they aware that scientists say humanity has all the tools needed to tackle the problem?

  • The Guardian will offer two pieces by the newspaper’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, exploring the peer-reviewed science documenting the existence of the climate majority.
  • Deutsche Welle will share a story examining one of the possible reasons why so many people want stronger climate action: Extreme weather is making affordable housing harder to find.
  • Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism will offer at least four stories, including examinations of how climate change is affecting daily life in Gaza, Lebanon, and other parts of the Middle East, a region that climate reporting has, oddly, long overlooked.
  • AFP will provide (for AFP’s thousands of newsroom clients) four stories, one each from Brazil, Greece, Vietnam, and the Philippines, scrutinizing another possible reason for the emergence of the climate majority: Governments sometimes don’t prioritize climate action even after extreme weather has battered their country.

In a striking first-hand account for DeSmog, journalist Marc Fawcett-Atkinson reports from the 2025 Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London, co-founded by Jordan Peterson and Philippa Stroud. Framed as a conservative alternative to the World Economic Forum, ARC attracted nearly 3,000 attendees, including political elites, fossil fuel executives, tech leaders, and young ideologues.

Peterson and other speakers pushed climate denial, anti-progressive rhetoric, and calls for a return to “traditional Western values,” with key themes including opposition to immigration, diversity, and sexual freedom. Climate action was widely mocked, and fossil fuels celebrated as tools for prosperity. Despite Peterson’s fringe reputation, Fawcett-Atkinson argues that ARC reveals his growing influence within a global right-wing movement seeking to reshape society.

More about Jordan Peterson:

Once known primarily as a controversial psychologist and self-help author, Jordan Peterson has now emerged as a global power broker in the fight against net-zero climate policies. Through his leadership of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC), Peterson is using his vast online influence and ties to conservative media (like The Daily Wire) to mobilize a transnational network of fossil fuel executives, Trump allies, libertarian think tanks, and far-right politicians across the US, UK, Canada, and beyond.

Peterson rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, mocking net-zero targets as authoritarian and misguided, and calling efforts to cut carbon emissions “buffoonery.” 

ARC’s influence now extends to policymaking, as it shapes conservative political agendas and fosters international coordination to dismantle climate policies and environmental regulations.

In short, Peterson has become a central figure in a growing global campaign to undermine climate action and entrench fossil fuel interests under the guise of “freedom” and “traditional values.”

The Visual and Multimodal Disinformation (VMD) assessment report by The University of Ottawa Information Integrity Lab provides an accessible study of the strategies available to analyse, contain, and combat VMD. Case studies include a discussion of deep fakes, impacts on public health and safety, as well as climate change information distortion.

Stay tuned for enlightening events & announcements!

Join EU DisinfoLab and Logically for a live discussion unpacking the key findings of the HEAT investigation, which exposes how climate disinformation is seeded, adapted, and amplified across Germany, Netherlands and France.

From fringe conspiracies to coordinated inauthentic behaviour, the HEAT project reveals how misleading climate narratives are fuelling distrust, polarisation, and resistance to climate action, often in ways that evade both detection and accountability.

Why is this happening? Who’s behind it? And what can we do about it? This webinar brings together frontline investigators and disinformation analysts to answer these questions, share behind-the-scenes insights, and explore the urgent policy gaps revealed by the research.

With analysts from Logically and a policy expert from EU Disinfolab.

HEAT is rising. Stay tuned – join us for this webinar. Register here.

Addressing climate disinformation is crucial to empowering people of all generations to take meaningful action on adaptation. The Adaptation AGORA project is co-organising this online webinar on Disinformation and Climate Adapation in collaboration with TUUWI

Register here

Join Climate Access on May 6 at 11am PT/2pm ET for a timely webinar exploring how to effectively counter climate mis-/disinformation in this increasingly polarized and high-stakes political environment. Expert panelists will explore the role of political figures and media ecosystems in spreading falsehoods, implications for climate action and public trust, and equip you with the tools needed to reject misleading narratives. 

This event will unpack how strategic narratives and disinformation campaigns distort Arctic climate discussions, and how we can build resilience against them. Register here.

From AI-generated greenwashing to transatlantic denial campaigns, climate disinformation is mutating fast. Join us as top experts from Global Witness and Ripple Research expose the biggest threats of 2025, and what we can still do about them.

What’s happening?

  • AI chatbots are talking green… while spreading denial.
  • Falsehoods fuel clicks, ads, and influence in a growing disinfo economy.
  • Trump claims rising temperatures help humanity, and rewrites the science.
  • Musk flips from EV pioneer to platforming climate lies.
  • From US powerhouses to global ripple effects, Trump and Musk are fueling a transatlantic wave of climate disinformation, weakening climate action from Washington to Brasília, Brussels to Berlin.

Two expert speakers. One critical conversation. This isn’t just a webinar, it’s a wake-up call. Don’t miss it! Register here: 

The Partnership for Information and Democracy (PID) will convene a series of online and in-person events during 2025 focused on two critical areas: private messaging platforms and climate/environmental disinformation. Led by Armenia, Brazil, Luxembourg, and Ukraine, these events will bring together governments, civil society, and academia to discuss the challenges of disinformation and explore actionable solutions. Through these discussions, the workstreams aim to identify key issues, facilitate policy exchanges, and develop concrete recommendations for tackling the spread of harmful narratives. Stay tuned!

Organised by Kreisau-Initiative e. V. and co-funded by Erasmus+, this training brings together youth workers, trainers & civil society pros from across Europe to tackle climate disinformation and populist narratives. Build tools, share strategies & promote fact-based climate dialogue. Apply by 11 May!

The Information Integrity Lab (InfoLab) at the University of Ottawa will host a two-day event where to explore the drivers and impacts of climate mis/disinformation and collaborate on actionable solutions, including tools, strategies, and initiatives that foster resilience and promote informed climate dialogue. 

At Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, Tristan Copley Smith leads an interactive workshop exploring how generative AI is reshaping climate storytelling, both as a force for inspiration and a driver of disinformation. Participants will learn about “bunkering,” a strategy to build resilience against AI-driven narratives, and view a media project by Possible Studio.

Platforms & Society invites submissions for a special issue that critically examines the role of digital platforms in the context of the climate crisis and sustainability. While tech companies position themselves as allies in the fight against climate change, they also contribute significantly to environmental harm through energy consumption and resource extraction. This issue will explore the contradictions within the digital industry’s environmental claims, its role in climate disinformation, and the challenges in achieving a sustainable future. Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts by May 23, 2025.

The Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change is a joint partnership between the Brazilian Government, the UN Secretariat and UNESCO. It aims to produce and gather evidence on the impact of disinformation on climate issues.

To foster programmatic coherence and optimize impact, a Global Multi-donor Fund for the Integrity of Information on Climate Change will be created to fund networked, in-depth research that will contribute to exposing and dismantling disinformation related to climate change, as well as the dissemination of the results of the research. Stay tuned.

Use Hot Air explore tool to see which topics are driving the conversation about climate change, from scepticism to outright mis-disinformation.

Here is the core of the story of how the Hot Air project was born: How a dubious claim about whales went from fringe argument to presidential policy.

 

Don’t miss this online course to tackle climate misinformation run by AFP.  It is free and in 45 minutes you’ll learn how to verify content and claims about climate change, we’ll talk about “greenwashing”, see what content is not verifiable, identify some types of misinformation and which sources to use.

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