Climate change disinformation on YouTube has morphed into a misleading new narrative, according to a report<\/a> published today. With compounding disasters<\/a> making it harder to deny that climate change is happening, creators spreading disinformation have pivoted to content that targets clean energy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the past, content that falsely claimed that climate change was either not happening or not a result of humans burning fossil fuels dominated disinformation channels. That\u2019s not the case anymore, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Instead, the most common lies about climate change now have to do with denying the benefits of clean energy, attacking policies meant to slash planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels, and maligning scientists and advocates that push for change. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n This kind of \u201cnew denial\u201d made up 70 percent of climate-denying content on YouTube in 2023, according to the report, compared to 35 percent in 2018. It largely centers around deceptive messages that \u201cclimate solutions won\u2019t work,\u201d that the science backing those solutions is unreliable, or that global warming isn\u2019t actually harmful. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n This kind of \u201cnew denial\u201d made up 70 percent of climate-denying content on YouTube in 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s overwhelming evidence<\/a> that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are causing climate change, that those emissions are supercharging deadly weather disasters, and that transitioning to clean energy is the only way to tackle the problem at scale. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n In one case study, the researchers point to a spike in this kind of content from Canadian pundit Jordan Peterson over the last few years. \u201cThe idea that we can make the planet more habitable on an environmental, on the environmental front by impoverishing poor people, by raising energy prices and food prices, is absolutely, it\u2019s not only absurd logically, but I think it\u2019s tantamount to genocidal,\u201d Peterson says in one YouTube video his channel posted in 2022. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Peterson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge<\/em>. Climate change is expected to cause 250,000 additional deaths\u00a0each year in the coming decades as it raises risks from heat stress, malaria, undernutrition, and diarrhea, according to the World Health Organization<\/a>. Fortunately, renewable energy is already a cheaper alternative<\/a> to fossil fuel power plants and can help prevent deaths linked to the effects of climate change. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Google\u2019s policies on disinformation have to catch up with new trends in climate disinformation, the report authors say. They found that the company was running ads on that kind of content, even though it has a policy<\/a> that \u201cprohibit[s] ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt is hypocritical for social media companies to claim to be green but then monetize and amplify lies about the climate,\u201d CCDH CEO and founder Imran Ahmed said in a press release. \u201cIt is time for digital platforms to put their money where their mouth is. They should refuse to amplify or monetize cynical climate denial content that undermines faith in our collective capacity to solve humanity\u2019s most pressing challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n