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As Rachel Koning Beals wrote for MarketWatch yesterday, “Facebook, long targeted by critics for allowing misinformation on global warming and other environmental developments to populate users’ social-media feeds unchecked, announced it will launch a new information hub to provide “science-based information” about climate change.”
NPR’s All Things Considered further explained that “Users in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany are seeing links and information from Facebook’s Climate Change Information Center starting Tuesday. It’s similar to the COVID-19 information page launched in March.”
This announcement comes days after officials responding to wildfires in Oregon had to fight rumors that certain groups had intentionally caused fires, leading to chaos and confusion during an emergency.
Why This Matters: While more information is all well and good, ultimately it will not stop the spread of fake news. As Dylan Byers wrote for NBC News, “Facebook will not change its approach to combating climate misinformation outside the hub. It will continue to apply warning labels to demonstrably false information, but will not take down posts unless they pose an immediate safety risk.” And that’s the piece that desperately needs addressing.
Not everyone is convinced that Facebook is committed to elevating climate coverage, especially when the tech behemoth censored a climate scientist’s post earlier this summer at the same time that they allowed climate change propaganda to go unchecked. In responding to a letter from Senators led by Elizabeth Warren, Facebook explained that it has two standards for climate-fact checking which ultimately allow misinformation to proliferate.
Green Cred: Additionally, in an effort to address its greenhouse gas emissions, Facebook also pledged to slash greenhouse gases and purchase enough renewable energy and offsets to cancel out carbon dioxide emissions from its global operations this year. The company also set a goal to reach net-zero from its supply chain, employee commuting, and business travel by 2030.
Arshak Makichyan is a 26-year-old climate activist in Moscow, Russia who has been inspired by Greta Thunberg’s strikes for climate and activism. But, as Reuters reported, “unlike the Swedish teenager, who has galvanized a global movement of young environmentalists, Russia’s tough protest laws and people’s general apathy towards activism has made the 26-year-old’s campaign a […]
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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a rock-steady vote in favor of environmental protection and sympathetic on issues involving clean water and air.
Why This Matters: There are many challenges to President Trump’s rollbacks of environmental laws that are working their way to the Supreme Court. Once there, the Court can effectively re-write those laws narrowing them considerably by upholding the Trump deregulatory position even if it is contrary to prior interpretations or other plausible interpretations of the statute itself.
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The 26th UN Climate Change Conference was set to take place this November in the UK but the coronavirus has postponed the meeting for another year. But, as the Guardian reported, not wanting to waste any time, young activists in Fridays for Future are pushing ahead with their own online event this November, called Mock […]
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