Creators are using new tactics to evade YouTube's anti-misinformation policies.
Photo: Reuters
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) used artificial intelligence to review information from 12,058 videos over the past six years on 96 YouTube channels that were found to promote content that undermined the scientific consensus on climate change that human behavior is contributing to long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns.
The report found that last year, 70% of content on these channels focused on suggesting that climate solutions are unfeasible, portrayed global warming as harmless or beneficial, or dismissed climate science and the environmental movement as unreliable. That’s up from 35% five years ago.
“A new front has opened in this battle,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of CCDH. “The channels that we were looking at initially said climate change isn’t happening, and now they’re saying, ‘Hey, climate change is happening, but there’s no hope. There’s no solution.’”
CCDH said YouTube is earning up to $13.4 million a year from advertising on the channels the report analyzed. In a statement, YouTube did not comment directly on the report but defended its policies.
“Debate or discussion of climate change topics is allowed, including public policy or research,” a YouTube spokesperson said. “However, when content crosses the line into climate denial, we stop showing ads on those videos .”
CCDH called on YouTube to update its policies on climate change denial content, saying its new report could help the environmental movement more broadly combat false claims about global warming.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
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