Twitter has taken a new step to fight climate change denial. The social network ad what will ban ads that promote a view that contradicts the scientific consensus in relation to the environmental crisis. The novelty is part of the commitment assumed by the platform for the Earth day.
The company’s determination aims to limit the scope of denial groups and joins similar decisions already made by Google and Facebook. In this way, all advertisements that try to deny or condition the causes and consequences of climate change will be covered by Twitter’s inappropriate content policy.
We believe that climate denialism should not be monetized on Twitter and that misleading ads should not detract from important conversations about the climate crisis. It is worth mentioning that to put this measure into practice, those led by Parag Agrawal will use reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changewhich belongs to the United Nations (UN).
However, the platform’s commitment to combat disinformation about climate change would not be limited to the prohibition of denialist ads. Twitter also promises that there will be news soon regarding new tools for “add trusted and authoritative context to conversations” on this topic. “We recognize that misleading information about climate change can undermine efforts to protect the planet,” they explained.
Fighting Climate Change Deniers May Be Twitter’s Next Controversy
In recent years we have come across a very strong clash between the main social networks and denialism. This has been fueled by the pandemic, with the spread of fake news about COVID-19 and the explosion of anti-vaccine groups. However, the crossroads due to climate change are not exactly new, and far exceed the discussions that take place in virtuality.
But Twitter banning ads that deny climate change has already started to generate buzz among self-proclaimed “free speech advocates.” So it will be interesting to see how it impacts the novel starring Elon Musk in his attempt to buy the company.
The tycoon himself has been one of the main critics of Twitter for its apparent lack of freedom of expression. However, he is also one of the main promoters of the use of renewable energies to protect the Environment. Therefore, this situation could quickly become a heavy contradiction for the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
“Sometimes people are sad about the future and wonder if we will solve energy sustainability, or they think it is already too late because of climate change. I want to assure them that they can be hopeful about the future, that they should be hopeful about the future. problem will be solved and this factory is a big step in that direction,” Musk said recently, during the opening of Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory.
Beyond this, Twitter continues to encourage discussions related to protecting the planet. According to the social network, conversations about sustainability have increased by 150% on the platform since last year.