Giving in to political and social pressure, Facebook intervenes in sharing information regarding climate change, implementing a series of measures similar to those put in place for COVID-19 and political votes.
Fight against fake news
Facebook (NASDAQ: Facebook shares), long criticized for consenting to misinformation about global warming and other environmental issues by leaving the publication of related content unchecked, recently announced that it will launch a new information hub to deliver "science-based information" regarding climate change. “Climate change is real.
The science is unequivocal and the need for action becomes more urgent by the day, ”the company said in a statement. From now on, when users search for climate change information on Facebook or when viewing certain posts related to the topic, a link to the Climate Science Information Center will also be displayed.
On it, users will find data and comments from sources including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the World Meteorological Organization and the Met Office, among others. others.
The announcement comes just days after rescuers in the US Pacific Northwest had to fight disinformation on Facebook that hindered the evacuation of citizens in fire zones.
Such fires are triggered by a variety of factors, but scientists increasingly agree that climate change contributes to the intensity and frequency of these events.
The launch of the Facebook hub - initially in the US, UK, France and Germany - also comes before Climate Week, a virtual conference to be organized next week by the United Nations and New York City.
Facebook's commitment against climate change
In addition to the new information hub, Facebook said it will continue to act on the dissemination of posts containing fake news through the news feed feature and will label those posts as fake.
Facebook, however, pointed out that it will not remove posts and it is still unclear how the company will handle posts within private groups that are believed to contain contradictory information to what is the still evolving mainstream version of science on a possible acceleration of climate change due to human activities.
Facebook has set its own goal, similar to those of many tech giants, to achieve zero carbon emissions and be powered entirely by renewable energy in its operations.
Climate change measures follow the same line the company has already taken for sharing information on COVID-19 and voting for presidential elections. Shares of Facebook have risen nearly 33% since the beginning of 2020. The S&P 500 has risen about 5,7% over the same period.
