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Musk's Twitter takeover sparks fears climate misinformation will surge on platform

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Roland Lloyd Parry, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The exterior of Twitter headquarters at the start of the business day in San Francsico, California, USA, November 4, 2022. George Nikitin/EPA-EFE/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/business/11/08/20221108-twitter-headquarters-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>The exterior of Twitter headquarters at the start of the business day in San Francsico, California, USA, November 4, 2022. <em>George Nikitin/EPA-EFE/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>PARIS, France — Climate change deniers looking to block action and &quot;greenwashing&quot; companies could have free rein on Twitter after Elon Musk&#x27;s takeover, analysts warned as leaders pursued anti-warming efforts at the COP27 summit.</p><p>The Tesla billionaire and self-declared free-speech absolutist has fired thousands of staff -– with sustainability executives Sean Boyle and Casey Junod among those signing off from the platform last week.</p><p>Musk has promised to reduce Twitter&#x27;s content restrictions and announced plans to create a &quot;content moderation council&quot; to review policies after the takeover.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s not clear what Mr Musk really plans to do. However... if he removes all attempts at content moderation, we can expect a surge of disinformation, as well as increases in misleading and greenwashing advertisements,&quot; said Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University who has authored leading studies on climate misinformation.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/01/22/twitter-board-dissolved-leaving-musk-as-sole-director">Twitter board dissolved, leaving Elon Musk as sole director</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/04/22/twitter-layoffs-begin-as-musk-launches-overhaul">Twitter mass layoffs begin as Musk launches overhaul</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Greenwashing&quot; means companies misleading the public about their impact on the planet through messages and token gestures.</p><p>&quot;We may also see an increase in hateful comments directed towards climate scientists and advocates, particularly women,&quot; Oreskes said.</p><p>Following the buyout, one climate journalist tweeted that he had received death threats on the platform. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/06/28/22/greenwashing-a-new-climate-misinformation-battleground">&#x27;Greenwashing&#x27;: a new climate misinformation battleground</a></li></ul><div><strong>SUSTAINABILITY EXECUTIVES AXED</strong></div><p>Researchers and campaigners say that despite measures announced by social platforms, climate misinformation is thriving, undermining belief in climate change and the action needed to tackle it.</p><p>Twitter and other tech giants such as Facebook and Google have said they are acting to make false claims less visible.</p><p>But the Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank said in a detailed study this year that messages aiming to &quot;deny, deceive and delay&quot; regarding climate action were prevalent across social media.</p><p>Under Twitter&#x27;s policy before the takeover, it said &quot;misleading advertisements on Twitter that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change are prohibited&quot;.</p><p>&quot;We believe that climate denialism shouldn&#x27;t be monetized on Twitter, and that misrepresentative ads shouldn&#x27;t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis,&quot; Boyle and Junod wrote in an Earth Day post on Twitter&#x27;s blog.</p><p>Both posted messages on November 4 with the hashtag &quot;LoveWhereYouWorked&quot;, indicating they were among those laid off after Musk&#x27;s $44-million takeover. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p><div><strong>SCIENTISTS AT RISK</strong></div><p>Beyond false information, some specialists warned that climate scientists themselves face threats if moderation falters.</p><p>A surge in hate speech drove Twitter&#x27;s head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth to respond, trying to calm concerns. He tweeted that the platform&#x27;s &quot;core moderation capabilities remain in place&quot;.</p><p>Musk wrote on November 4 that &quot;Twitter&#x27;s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I worry that scientific falsehoods will find a bigger platform on Twitter under Musk&#x27;s leadership,&quot; said Genevieve Guenther, founder of the media activism group End Climate Silence.</p><p>&quot;But I worry even more that the website will start deplatforming climate scientists and advocates who criticize right-wing views, preventing them from connecting to each other and to decision-makers in media and government.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/02/24/22/can-facebook-rein-in-climate-change-falsehoods">EXPLAINER: Facebook and climate change — can falsehoods be reined in?</a></li></ul><div><strong>BLUE TICKS AT COP?</strong></div><p>Among Musk&#x27;s plans is an $8 monthly charge for users to have a blue tick by their name -- currently a mark of authenticity for officials, celebrities, journalists, and others.</p><p>&quot;To me, this is opening the door to highly coordinated disinformation and manipulation,&quot; said Melissa Aronczyk, an associate professor in communication and information at Rutgers University.</p><p>Musk said the move aims to reduce hate speech by making it too expensive for trolls to have multiple accounts.</p><p>Aronczyk argued the system would give a mark of authenticity to those willing to pay for a blue tick to push an agenda.</p><p>She pointed to the controversy around Hill+Knowlton Strategies -- a PR company working for big fossil fuel companies -– reportedly hired by host Egypt to handle public relations for the COP27 summit.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/07/22/musk-defends-paid-blue-badge-plans-for-twitter">Musk defends paid blue badge plans for Twitter</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/08/22/blue-tick-accounts-suspended-from-twitter-after-impersonating-elonmusk">Blue tick accounts suspended from Twitter after impersonating @elonmusk</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/18/21/during-cop26-facebook-had-climate-falsehoods-ads">During COP26, Facebook served ads with climate falsehoods, skepticism</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Picture every Hill+Knowlton staffer working for COP27 creating a network of blue-check accounts to promote the business-led initiatives at the summit. Or downplaying the conflicts. Or ignoring protests,&quot; Aronczyk said.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s basically letting corporate greenwashing become the default communication style around climate change.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/08/22/climate-change-changing-behavior-of-ph-storms-marcos">Climate change changing behavior of PH storms: Marcos</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0CNm1R1p6bo?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Climate change deniers looking to block action could have free rein on Twitter after Elon Musk's takeover, analysts warned.

Musk's Twitter takeover sparks fears climate misinformation will surge on platform

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Musk's Twitter takeover sparks fears climate misinformation will surge on platform

Roland Lloyd Parry,

Agence France-Presse

Published Nov 08, 2022 01:12 PM PHT

Read More:

climate change

climate crisis

Eon Musk

Twitter

free speech

misinformation

fake news

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