FACEBOOK A CESSPOOL OF MISINFORMATION, AS 10 PAGES DOMINATE CLIMATE DENIAL CONTENT

The hits keep on coming when it comes to Facebook and controversy.  This time, the latest oozing cut is a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.  And if you don’t understand what they do, simply read their name again.  The center went to the trouble to review almost 7,000 of the most trafficked posts on Facebook that spouted climate denialism.  And, though none of us should be surprised, 69% of these posts were on a total of 10 pages.  With that kind of density, it’s no wonder readers get ever denser when it comes to climate denial.

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10 FACEBOOK PAGES MAKE UP 69% OF ALL CLIMATE DENIAL POSTS ON AD TARGETING FACEBOOK

So you won’t be surprised to learn that many, if not all, of these pages will have familiar sounding names.  Here they are in all their inglory: Breitbart, Western Journal, Newsmax, Townhall Media, Media Research Center, The Washington Times, The Federalist Papers, Daily Wire, RT.com and Sputnik News, and lastly the Patriot Post.  All of them are notable for various embarrassing reasons.  But when it comes to their climate denial content, I should point out two in particular: the Media Research Center and Townhall Media.  Both come from Exxon backing and funding.  It sure might get harder to greenwash if more of us become aware…

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ON ALL SOCIAL MEDIA, THESE 10 CLIMATE DENIAL PAGES HAVE OVER 186 MILLION FOLLOWERS

But disturbingly, these ten pages have 186 million followers.  So 186 million people regularly pollute their common sensibilities with misinformation virtually every day.  Of nearly 7,000 posts on Facebook last year, these 10 pages resulted in almost 710,000 interactions.  But even more upsetting to learn, is that these 10 pages direct websites had nearly 1.1 billion visits in the last 6 months.  And yes, that is a money maker via Google’s AdSense platform, to the tune of about $3.6 million.  So yes, there is a money making revenue stream for climate denial, beyond muddying the water for policy choices.

Google announced a month ago they will start banning climate denial ads moving forward.  Facebook?  Not a peep.