{"id":55714,"date":"2022-09-21T09:49:57","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T07:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=55714"},"modified":"2022-11-15T18:15:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T17:15:39","slug":"harvard-investigation-reveals-social-media-as-the-new-frontier-of-climate-deception-and-delay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/55714\/harvard-investigation-reveals-social-media-as-the-new-frontier-of-climate-deception-and-delay\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard investigation reveals social media as the new frontier of climate deception and delay\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amsterdam, Netherlands – <\/em>A new Harvard University investigation commissioned by Greenpeace Netherlands, reveals rampant use of greenwashing and tokenism by the largest car brands, airlines and oil and gas companies in Europe to exploit people\u2019s concerns about the environment and spread disinformation online.<\/p>\n\n

The report, Three shades of green(washing), is the most thorough assessment of recent greenwashing by fossil fuel interests on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. <\/p>\n\n

Researchers used established social science methods to track brands\u2019 social media activities and analyse images and text in the companies\u2019 posts.[1][2]<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace lead campaigner Amina Adebisi Odofin, said<\/strong>: \u201cThis report shows that many of these companies devote more online airtime to sports, good causes, and fashion than to their multibillion-dollar fossil-fuelled operations. This clear sports and woke-washing is boosting the sales of climate wrecking products, as well as fuelling international conflict and human rights abuses across the globe. If we are serious about tackling the climate crisis we need a ban on fossil advertising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Findings include that only one in five “green” car ads sold a product, the rest functioned primarily to present the brand as green. One-in-five oil, car, and airline company posts used sports, fashion, and social causes – collectively termed \u2018misdirection\u2019 – to distract attention away from firms\u2019 core business roles and responsibilities. Companies variously leveraged imagery of nature, female-presenting, non-binary-presenting non-caucasian-presenting people, youth, experts, sportspeople, and celebrities to strengthen their messages of greenwashing and misdirection.[3]<\/p>\n\n

Two-thirds (67%) of oil, car, and airline companies\u2019 social media posts painted a \u201cgreen innovation\u201d sheen on their business operations, which the authors identify to represent a variety of types and extents of greenwashing. Car brands were much more proactive on social media than airlines and oil companies, on average generating twice the output of airlines and quadruple that of oil and gas companies. Only a negligible handful of posts made explicit reference to climate change, despite Europe\u2019s record-hot summer.<\/p>\n\n

Geoffrey Supran, <\/strong>Research Associate in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University and lead author of the research, said:<\/strong> \u201cSocial media is the new frontier of climate deception and delay. Our results show that, as Europe was experiencing its hottest summer on record, some of the companies most responsible for global heating stayed silent on social media about the climate crisis, opting instead to use language and imagery to strategically position themselves as green, innovative, charitable brands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The report confirms social media is the new frontier of climate disinformation and deception, allowing fossil fuel interests to engage in what the researchers call \u201cstrategic brand positioning\u201d. This is an evolution of the public affairs tactics employed by the tobacco industry, which successfully blocked regulation of its deadly products for decades.<\/p>\n\n

Yesterday, the United Nations secretary-general, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, addressed world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, calling for stronger scrutiny on the fossil fuel industry\u2019s \u201cmassive public relations machine raking in billions to shield the fossil fuel industry\u201d and compared it to the tobacco industry\u2019s lobbyists and spin doctors who successfully blocked regulation of its deadly product for decades [2]. Greenpeace and other 40 organisations are pushing a European Citizens\u2019 Initiative (ECI) petition, calling for a new  tobacco-like law that bans fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship in the European Union. <\/p>\n\n

Silvia Pastorelli, EU climate and energy campaigner, said: <\/strong>\u201cOne of our most startling findings is that European oil, auto, and airline industries are subtly yet systematically appropriating the beauty of nature in their social media content to \u2018green\u2019 their public image. Car brands in particular, are much more proactive on social media than airlines and oil companies. This means that carmakers play a much larger role in shaping the public narrative on climate, fossil fuels and energy transition. This pervasive and potent public affairs technique has been hiding in plain sight, and it demands greater scrutiny. This is a systematic greenwashing effort that must be addressed with a legal ban on all fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship across Europe, just as happened with tobacco.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Last year, Greenpeace EU and other 40 organisations launched a European Citizens\u2019 Initiative (ECI) petition<\/a> calling for a new tobacco-like law that bans fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship in the European Union. <\/p>\n\n

For the first time this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified the role of public relations and advertising in fuelling the climate crisis, while hundreds of scientists signed a letter calling on public relations and advertising agencies to stop working with fossil fuel companies and spreading climate disinformation.[4][5]<\/p>\n\n

ENDS<\/p>\n\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Full report: Three shades of green(washing)<\/a><\/p>\n\n

[1] Methodology:<\/strong> The investigation analysed 2,325 posts between 1 June and 31 July 2022 from 375 accounts on five platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube) from the 12 largest car brands and 5 largest airlines (by market capitalisation) and 5 largest fossil fuel companies (with greatest cumulative historical greenhouse gas emissions 1965-2018). 145 textual and visual variables were coded as part of a content analysis that employed a statistical test (Fisher\u2019s Exact Test) for associations between all combinations of independent variables.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

[2] Research team and lead:<\/strong> The research was conducted by a team of researchers from Harvard and computer scientists at the Algorithmic Transparency Institute. The research was led by Harvard\u2019s Geoffrey Supran, <\/strong>whose publications include the first ever peer-reviewed analysis of ExxonMobil\u2019s 40-year history of climate change communications, which demonstrated that the company misled the public about climate science and its implications.<\/p>\n\n

[3] Assessing ExxonMobil’s climate change communications (1977\u20132014)<\/a><\/p>\n\n

[4] Why the IPCC shone a spotlight on ad agencies still working with fossil fuel clients<\/a><\/p>\n\n

[5] Scientists target PR and ad firms they accuse of spreading disinformation<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Sol Gosetti, Media Coordinator Fossil Free Revolution, Greenpeace Netherlands: sol.gosetti@greenpeace.org<\/a>, +44 (0) 7807352020 WhatsApp +44 (0) 7380845754<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace International Press Desk: pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org<\/a>, +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)<\/p>\n\n

Follow @greenpeacepress<\/a> on Twitter for our latest international press releases<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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