Expert Panel Warns Journalists of Coordinated Climate Disinformation Campaigns

As reporters confront sophisticated tactics aimed at obscuring the reality of climate change, knowledge is their ultimate weapon against deception, say media experts, who exposed the greenwashing influence of PR teams and emphasized the benefits of local reporting at a recent online briefing about fighting disinformation.

There is an “absolutely critical difference” between climate misinformation and climate disinformation, said panelist Jennie King, head of climate research and policy at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and co-founder of Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), the organization co-hosting the event with the Covering Climate Now(CCNow) news collaborative.

“When we talk about misinformation, that is generally the accidental sharing of false information, probably something that we’ve all done at one point in time,” King explained. “What that means is that there’s no intention to harm but the negative consequences can be just as powerful.” Public inputs during the COVID-19 pandemic are an example, she said.