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Facebook allows climate misinformation through advertising, says report

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Facebook allows climate misinformation through advertising, says report

Pro-fossil fuel ads were viewed more than 431 million times last year on Facebook's US platforms

A thinktank has accused Facebook of allowing big oil companies to use the platform to spread fossil fuel propaganda.

According to a new study [pdf] by climate-focused thinktank InfluenceMap, fossil fuel firms and lobby groups use Facebook to run advertisements aimed at promoting oil and gas as part of a climate change solution, rather than part of the problem, to delay the extinction of fossil fuel use.

According to InfluenceMap's research, 25 oil and gas businesses - including ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute (API) - spent nearly $9.5 million with Facebook in 2020. They placed at least 25,247 pro-fossil fuel ads on Facebook's US platforms, which were viewed more than 431 million times.

Exxon alone spent $5 million on such ads, followed by the American Petroleum Institute ($2.7 million) and OneAlaska ($329,680).

The analysis also found that more than 6,700 ads on Facebook last year promoted claims that natural gas is a green or low carbon fuel, despite research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stating otherwise.

Exxon in particular frequently used Facebook advertising to spread the claim that continued use of oil was important to keep the United States from depending on other countries for its energy needs.

In many cases, oil industry ads downplayed the real impact of the sector or exaggerated the potential negative impacts of the transition to renewable energy on the economy and local communities.

The report also observed a spike in spending on Facebook adverts in July 2020, the day after then-presidential candidate Joe Biden announced a $2 trillion climate plan. Spending by oil companies remained high until the election was over, four months later.

Biden's proposal called for a sharp reduction in fossil fuel consumption to fight the climate crisis.

InfluenceMap report also accuses Facebook of not properly enforcing its advertising policies, which it says have failed to keep pace with the urgent need for climate action.

'If Facebook is serious about its climate commitments, it needs to rethink whether it's willing to keep taking the money of fossil fuel companies,' the report says.

'It is vital that these platforms, which wield significant power over the political landscape, are transparent on how their platforms are being used to influence the debate on climate change,' it adds.

In a statement to CNN, Exxon said the assertions made in the report 'are deliberately misleading and completely without merit'.

The API claimed its 'work to inform the debate' (pro-fossil fuel advertising) has been validated by government and independent studies.

A Facebook spokesperson emphasised to CNN that two wrongs can make a right, protesting that fossil fuel advertisements are not exclusive to social media:

"While ads like these run across many platforms, including on television networks such as CNN, Facebook offers an extra layer of transparency by requiring them to be available to the public in our Ad Library for up to seven years after publication," the Facebook spokesperson added.

Computing will run the Tech Impact Conference this year, exploring the relationship between tech and the climate - including case studies about the road to net zero, how to go green in your data centre and supply chain, and how to make small changes with a big impact. For those who are passionate about the planet - and those who are more wary - there has never been a better time to get involved.

Facebook allows climate misinformation through advertising, says report

Pro-fossil fuel ads were viewed more than 431 million times last year on Facebook's US platforms

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