Participants of a panel discussion at UN Headquarters expressed concern about mis- and disinformation relating to climate change. UN's Senior Adviser on Information Integrity, Charlotte Scaddan, talked with three climate experts at the SDG Media Zone about why pushing back on misleading facts about climate is a priority. Jake Dubbins, member of Climate Action Against Disinformation, presented the results of a poll conducted last year, in which they found that climate mis- and disinformation is cutting through in multiple countries. They surveyed six different countries and found that over 20 percent of respondents in all six countries believed that humans do not cause climate change.

Vanessa Nakate, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, raised the issue of fossil fuel companies that knowingly tried to hide information from the public to protect their profits. Paul Goodloe, The Weather Channel meteorologist, criticised news outlets that report the mis- and disinformation about climate change and veil it as news, whereas according to him climate change is an opinion. 

Why does it matter?

According to climate change experts, climate impacts are accelerating, yet denial, mis- and disinformation about well-established scientific facts regarding climate change are flooding the media landscape.