Facebook Has A Facebook Page W. Climate Information! Will They Stop/Mark Climate Disinfo? FUCK NO

[hatrack]

Time is running out to prevent a climate catastrophe. The summer of 2020, with its devastating wildfires and climate-fueled extreme weather, is a preview of the world's apocalyptic future — unless decisive steps are taken to reduce carbon emissions. The public’s need for accurate climate change information could not be greater.

Last week, Facebook announced that it is going to help. “As a global company that connects more than 3 billion people across our apps every month, we understand the responsibility Facebook has and we want to make a real difference,” the company said in a news release. To do that, Facebook announced a new feature called the Climate Science Information Center. It is a Facebook page containing climate change information from credible sources like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the World Meteorological Organization. It also contains a sampling of recent climate-related news, and a section for “actionable steps people can take in their everyday lives to combat climate change.” Combined with the company’s efforts to reduce its own carbon emissions, Facebook said it hopes the Climate Science Information Center demonstrates “that Facebook is committed to playing its part and helping to inspire real action in our community” on climate change.

Scientists and climate advocates, however, have panned Facebook's initiative because it does nothing to address the massive distribution of climate disinformation on Facebook. Further, Facebook's Climate Science Information Center contains no information about the primary reasons the climate crisis exists: polluting companies, policy obstruction, and unchecked climate denial.

“I see it as a greenwashing exercise,” said John Cook, an assistant research professor at George Mason University who studies climate misinformation. “Facebook is polluting the information landscape by allowing misinformation to proliferate from their platform. And they’re trying to distract from the fact that they’re not doing anything to prevent it.”

EDIT

https://heated.world/p/facebooks-climate-of-denial

[Eugene]

1. Facebook suspends environmental groups despite vow to fight misinformation

Facebook suspends environmental groups despite vow to fight misinformation (The Guardian)

Facebook blames mistake in system for restrictions on groups including Greenpeace USA

Facebook has suspended the accounts of several environmental organizations less than a week after launching an initiative it said would counter a tide of misinformation over climate science on the platform.

Groups such as Greenpeace USA, Climate Hawks Vote and Rainforest Action Network were among those blocked from posting or sending messages on Facebook over the weekend. Activists say hundreds of other individual accounts linked to indigenous, climate and social justice groups were also suspended for an alleged “intellectual property rights violation”.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/22/facebook-climate-change-environment-groups-suspended

[hatrack]

2. Of course . . . . .

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