Facebook fights fake news with climate info centre

Facebook on Tuesday launched a climate science information centre to elevate credible sources on climate change, as critics question its role in the spread of misinformation on the issue.

Facebook said the project is modelled on its Covid-19 Information Centre, and launched a similar feature last month on voting in preparation for US elections in November.

The tool will be rolled out in the US, France, Germany and the UK, and eventually to other countries. “The Climate Science

Information Centre is a dedicated space on Facebook with factual resources from the world’s leading climate organisations and actionable steps people can take in their everyday lives to combat climate change,” the company said.

It said articles from highquality publishers and other sources on climate science news will also be available at the centre.

Facebook has faced allegations that it permits false claims around climate change through a policy that exempts opinion articles from its external factchecking system.

It has said that it prioritises handling of misinformation that poses an immediate threat of harm, like bogus coronavirus cures or hate speech that could incite violence.

Facebook’s global policy chief Nick Clegg said the company would continue exempting false claims about climate change posted by politicians, although these are often among the most popular content on the platform. “No social media company has ever tried to do so for the simple reason that political speeches always are characterised by exaggerations, selected uses of statistics, and exaggerated claims of virtues from one candidate and vices of others.”

The company has not measured the effectiveness of its coronavirus information centre in countering false narratives about the pandemic, although product chief Chris Cox said it has seen 600 million people clicking on the tool, which executives considered a success. —