Twitter now prohibits misleading ads opposing climate change scientific consensus

Twitter declared another long-overdue rule on its platform last April 22 during the celebration of Earth Day: it is now prohibiting “misleading advertisements on Twitter 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 … We recognize that misleading information about climate change can undermine efforts to protect the planet,” reads the post written by Seán Boyle, Director of Sustainability, and Casey Junod, Global Sustainability Manager.

In the blog post, it is said that the implementation of the banning of such advertisements will be guided by authoritative sources. The post particularly mentions Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports as one of its main sources that will determine acceptable climate change content on the platform. Boyle and Junod added that Twitter will share more of its work “to add reliable, authoritative context to the climate conversations” on the platform in the coming months. 

According to the authors of the post, this new approach follows the previous actions made by the company aimed at promoting environmental awareness. “People around the world use Twitter to connect with others passionate about protecting our planet,” the post reads. “Last year, we introduced a dedicated Topic to help people find personalized conversations about climate change. And, to support conversation around #COP26, we rolled out pre-bunks — hubs of credible, authoritative information across a range of key themes, like the science backing climate change, made available in the Explore tab, Search, and Trends.”

On the other hand, to express its dedication to raising truthful environmental conservation and sustainability awareness in the place, Twitter underlines its partnership with various organizations, such as Earth Day Network, United Nations (UN) Environment Programme, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Development Programme, Greenpeace, Voice for the Planet, Let Me Breathe, WWF, 350.org, FridaysForFuture, We Don’t Have Time, Climate Reality Project, and more. Boyle and Junod said that aside from on-service support and training, the company also provides #AdsForGood grants to the said nonprofits, allowing it to utilize the platform’s advertising power to boost valuable environmental messages.

As a result, Twitter reports that expansion in climate conversation on the platform, saying that discussions regarding sustainability have increased by more than 150% since 2021. Meanwhile, the company mentions a 60%+ increase in the usage of terms “restoring” and “rebalancing” while discussions about waste reduction and decarbonization have swollen by over 100% and 50%, respectively.