Twitter bans climate change ads that contradict scientific consensus

Such advertisements will be categorised as inappropriate content.

Microblogging platform Twitter on Friday announced that it will ban advertisements that “contradict the scientific consensus” on climate change.

“We believe that climate denialism shouldn’t be monetized on Twitter, and that misrepresentative ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis,” the social media platform said. Misleading information about climate change can “undermine efforts to protect the planet”, it added.

Twitter said that such advertisements would be banned in line with its policy on inappropriate content. The company, however, did not state whether the ban is a new policy addition.

Today, on #EarthDay2022, we’re sharing more about our efforts to protect the planet, reduce our carbon footprint, and serve the climate conversation on Twitter.

We believe that meaningful climate action, and transparency about that work, are critical. ?https://t.co/QYtLOFLUzj

— Twitter For Good (@TwitterForGood) April 22, 2022

Twitter also said that its decision was based on “authoritative sources”, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

On April 4, a report by the organization said that the average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels ever from 2010 to 2019. However, it added that the rate of growth of such emissions has slowed down.

Meanwhile, Twitter on Friday said that it will share more information in the coming months on the manner in which it will seek to provide “reliable, authoritative context” to conversations on climate change.

The announcement by the social media platform came hours before European Union officials agreed on a law that would require big technology companies to provide safeguards against hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful online content, according to the Associated Press.

On October 7, Google also announced that it would prohibit advertisements that contradict “well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change”.