大象传媒

Marco Silva is a senior journalist for 大象传媒 News specialising in climate disinformation. For the past year, he has been investigating and debunking bad information about global warming.

People who embrace conspiracy theories often do so in an attempt to make sense of the world around them, to explain complex phenomena we may not fully understand.

Much of the climate misinformation I find online stems from that search for an explanation. In Australia, after Sydney was hit by devastating floods, some users on social media blamed the extreme rainfall on mysterious 鈥渃loud seeding鈥�. In the UK, as temperatures hit a record high this summer, some refused to accept global warming might be to blame.

Far more insidious is perhaps the world of climate disinformation - information produced and spread to deliberately misinform people about the climate.

Whether it鈥檚 politicians, companies, or states, many actors have an interest in hindering the fight against climate change. And their power cannot be underestimated: some are going to great lengths to muddy the waters of public debate.

Maybe it鈥檚 a fossil fuel company pretending to be much greener than it actually is. Or perhaps it鈥檚 a petrostate, whose state media promote climate scepticism to their viewers.

Climate mis- and disinformation can take many shapes and forms - but what brings them all together is a fundamental distortion of facts.

Four points to bear in mind

1. Let yourself be guided by the science: most of the climate mis- and disinformation out there can be debunked by looking at elementary climate science. Yes, this means you need to brush up on some of those subjects you studied at school years ago - but climate scientists are, in my experience, an amenable bunch with endless patience to explain complex science to journalists. Ask for help!

2. Not everything is what it seems: bad actors can be incredibly clever in the way they try to manipulate our knowledge and perception of climate change. Don鈥檛 rush, take your time to dig deeper (you don鈥檛 get second chances at fact-checking), and dare to ask: why is this narrative being shared? Where does it come from? Who stands to benefit from it?

3. Listen: different audiences have different informational needs at different moments. Only by doing copious amounts of social listening will you be able to identify emerging trends and stories that you can report on. But remember: not every audience can be served in the same way. Be prepared to tell the same story across different platforms, using different formats and tools.

4. Don鈥檛 underestimate the power of evergreen: while some of our audiences may be able to engage with more complex climate stories (about ESG, carbon credits, etc), many are better served by content that still addresses some of the most basic questions around climate change. Evergreen formats allow you to answer them through content that will be of use to audiences for a long, long time.

Campaigning journalism?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those of us who cover climate change for the 大象传媒 often find ourselves being accused of failing to abide by the very same principles our employer stands for: impartiality, neutrality, objectivity.

Why not hear from the other side, they ask, from those who don鈥檛 believe in climate change?

The answer is simple. Because the overwhelming majority of scientists () are in agreement about the key facts of climate change: that it is real, that it is already happening, and that it is being driven by mankind.

What the world does to tackle climate change is a political choice, a debate for our audiences to engage in. Our role is to provide them with the facts they need to have informed conversations about the biggest challenge of our time.

This can involve reporting on or debunking falsehoods that emerge on any given day, but also producing content that audiences may find useful at any given time - like practical guides to convince climate deniers, or .

More from the Trusted News Initiative

• In conversation with Deborah Turness, CEO for 大象传媒 News and Current Affairs. Deborah explains her strategy to build trust.
• Trust in News 2022: Climate change - sifting for truthJournalists Adele Santelli and Marsha Lulu Ochieng discuss how we can help audiences to understand the climate crisis and separate fact from fiction.
• Top tips for global fact checkers from AFPAFP's Sophie Nicholson offers her tips for fact checkers around the world.
• Five ways journalists can combat misinformationRebecca Skippage shares her top tips on getting good quality information to our audiences.