A polar bear in Repulse Bay, Nunavut area, Canada.
Paul Souders | Getty Images
Facebook announced on Thursday that it will now debunk general myths about climate change and further tend to the role of ‘arbiter of truth’ that the company once denied.
The social media company said it is adding a section to its Climate Change Information Center that contains facts with accurate information on climate change misunderstandings. These include the fact that polar bear populations are declining due to global warming, as well as the fact that too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is harming the plant’s life.
The company said it intends to rely on experts from George Mason University, the Yale Climate Change Communication Program and the University of Cambridge to identify and dismiss myths about climate change.
Facebook introduced these information centers and relied on them as an important part of its tactics to combat the widespread problem of misinformation about its services. This is a clear reversal of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s statement in May last year, when he defended unobstructed speech by politicians on the platform, saying he does not think ‘Facebook or internet platforms in general should be arbitrators of the truth. not’.
Previous examples include a Covid-19 information center launched in March and a voting information center launched in August.
Facebook launched its Climate Change Information Center in September, shortly after the company took down a report with erroneous allegations that the wildfires in Oregon were caused by Antifa members. The report went viral on the social network.
Facebook also announced on Thursday that it will now begin adding information labels to postings on climate change that lead people to its Climate Change Information Center.
In addition, the company said it would now expand this hub to users in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa and Taiwan. The feature is available in the US, UK, France and Germany.
Users in other countries will be sent via Facebook to the UN Environment Program when searching for climate-related terms on the service, the company said.