This blog explains the impact false claims can have on climate change efforts and how organizations can combat mis- and disinformation.
Provide an overview of your work and how it can benefit environmental and climate justice efforts.
I largely focus on tracking and combating mis– and disinformation that impacts EDF’s goals and initiatives. I am part of the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition, a group of more than 90 different climate and anti-disinformation organizations trying to combat the spread of false information. Their website has many helpful analyses and reports highlighting deceptive and false narratives about the climate.
What are the most common ways disinformation can affect a frontline organization, especially in this new political climate?
Frontline organizations can be the targets of online smear campaigns, they can get their funding cut due to politicians acting on disinformation, or they can find themselves unable to move forward in their work because the community (or sometimes a politician or bureaucrat) believes in disinformation about that organization’s goals or the underlying environmental issues that organization is trying to address.
For example, if you are trying to tackle the impact of climate change on your local farmland, and none of the farmers believes in climate change, they aren’t going to believe you or want to work with you.
How do you tackle false claims while also prioritizing safety?
There are a few best practices to keep in mind while tackling false claims:
Do
- Make sure you cite your sources, and make sure that those sources are reliable, accurate, and accessible.
- Appeal to the emotions and shared values of your target audience. Disinformation is meant to make people feel frightened and isolated. Reminding them that many people agree that, say, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are bad for the environment and only by cutting back on those gases will we be able to enjoy clean and unpolluted air, will make people more receptive to your messages.
Don’t
- Be afraid to report any post to the social media platform hosting it, or to reach out to a newspaper to see if you can submit an op-ed or letter that sets the record straight.
- Call out any one poster, blogger, or YouTuber by name if you decide to respond. You don’t want to attack the messenger. You want to address the message.
- Link to the video, post, article, etc., spreading disinformation. You don’t want to put it in front of people who might not otherwise have seen it. Talk about the substance of the claim.
What are creative ways to combat deceptive data when an organization has limited capacity?
You can join larger coalitions, like Climate Action Against Disinformation, where you can pool resources with other organizations and draw inspiration from what other groups are doing. You can also use data and messaging on the EDF website to make your own content, or simply re-use EDF content, like this packet on anti-wind turbine disinformation.
The more often a person hears or sees a message, the more likely they are to believe it—don’t be afraid to keep repeating or reposting the same message, repackaged in slightly different ways. It may help cement your anti-disinformation message in the minds of your audience, so that the next time they see a claim that the government can cause hurricanes through geoengineering, they’ll think, “Oh no, that’s not right. I saw a bunch of places online talking about how there aren’t actually any geoengineering projects that can do that.”
How do you encourage people to support your community organization despite hurtful disinformation?
Disinformation is designed to make people feel overwhelmed and powerless. When you show people that they still have the power to affect change and make it easy for them to take steps to do so, they are less likely to believe false rumors when they hear them.
Provide a fact-based, positive counter-message with practical steps and promote it across all your social media channels. Be sure to use the Truth Sandwich method:
- Start with the truth.
- Introduce the lie you are debunking.
- Explain the motives behind those who spread the lie.
- End with the truth.
Also, disinformation often springs up to fill a vacuum. Ask yourself, “Where is the understanding gap?” Are people having trouble finding fact-based resources? Is the scientific explanation too technical? Are you in the same spaces as your audience? Is there some deeper fear or worry in your audience that’s getting in the way of clear communication—and can you address that first?
Disinformation is designed to make you act emotionally rather than logically. It aims to put people into a state of fight or flight, where they don’t feel like they have the time to sit and really think about what’s happening. What fears are your opponents trying to trigger with “fake news” or conspiracy theories? Try to dig for the root cause and address that as compassionately as you can. That lets you change the conversation and control it, as well as help the communities you’re serving address bigger issues than one particularly viral TikTok that spreads false information about your organization.
What’s the difference between misinformation and disinformation?
Misinformation is false information spread on accident. Disinformation is false information spread on purpose… and often for money.
Misinformation is when your uncle posts that the local community center closes at 5 pm on Election Day… not knowing that the community center has different hours specifically for Election Day. He didn’t mean to spread the wrong information, so it’s misinformation.
Disinformation is when a PAC starts airing ads on your local TV station saying that you must have a passport to vote at the local community center, even though your state does not have any voter ID laws. That is someone deliberately spreading false information, on purpose, and probably because they were paid to do so.
About the Author
Elyse Martin
Elyse Martin, Manager, Persuasion Research and Campaigns, spearheads EDF’s anti-mis- and disinformation efforts. She is also team lead for the Audience Insights team in Performance Marketing. Previously, she worked as the Anti-Disinformation Manager at ProgressNow.
