Spreading false information about renewable energy and climate change has a long history. After the Kyoto Protocol in 1998, the American Petroleum Institute sent a memo, later leaked to the New York Times, to its members stating the need to make climate change a "non-issue." That memo also provided advice for manipulating the media and public. Amy Westervelt traces the history of disinformation generated by the oil industry back to the early 20th Century in this Drilled article.
Today, it's not just those with a financial interest who are spreading false information. Countries such as Iran and Russia have identified climate change has an issue they can exploit to divide the people of their adversaries. Their goal is to destabilize and weaken opponents. They create false stories and promote them via fake social media accounts. Gullible real people then spread the disinformation further.
When we see social media posts, letters to the editor, and comments by public figures about renewable energy and climate change that are flat out wrong, it makes us angry. We feel compelled to set the record straight, but how you do so is important.
I'll provide some ideas for effectively responding to disinformation, but first let me quickly explain what it is. Disinformation refers to a deliberate attempt to push false information or present information in an incorrect context. It is often confused with misinformation, which occurs when someone mistakenly provides false information or misunderstands the context around that information. Those who post honest mistakes in public forums are likely to accept the truth when tactfully corrected.
People who promote disinformation aren't interested in being corrected. Disinformation trolls rely on passionate responses, pro and con. The more people talk about it, the bigger the win. It's a version of "repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth."
Promoters of disinformation want others to amplify their message, and they don't care whether you believe it or not. Someone who reposts a message to express outrage is exposing everyone in their social media circles to the message. It seems like a safe thing to do because people tend to see their connections as like-minded. That's not necessarily true, and even if it was, they don't know how far that message will spread as others repost it to their social networks. This makes responding to disinformation risky but necessary.
Here is my advice based on long experience dealing with trolls as a moderator of online forums:
Tips for Responding to Disinformation
Make sure you have the facts straight before responding. It's easy to misremember statistics or forget important context when correcting disinformation. Get a statistic or context wrong and you give the poster the opportunity to question your credibility. It's a good policy to look up the facts and thoroughly understand the context before posting a reply.
Reference your sources. Trolls almost never provide a source for their information. Pointing people to reputable sources adds credibility to your response.
Be tactful and unemotional. You want people to consider your point and not give them an opportunity to react to your emotion. This approach will also keep you out of trouble if you are correcting a well-intentioned but mistaken person.
Address the false information, not the poster. Speaking directly to the poster invites a conversation, which is what the disinformation troll wants. They don't want to be corrected. They want to keep the conversation going in the hope that the false information gains traction. Provide the correct information and don't engage the poster.
Contain the damage by not reposting elsewhere. This is a pet peeve of mine. Someone sees a clear attempt to mislead people online and they feel the need to let others know about it. They repost the disinformation in other channels to express their outrage. This amplifies the disinformation troll's message. Keep it to the channel where the disinformation was originally posted.
Know when to let it go. If someone has already provided a clear and effective response, there's no point in adding on. It only risks extending the conversation--again, what the troll wants.
Block and report the disinformation troll. Blocking disinformation trolls limits their power and preserves your sanity. Reporting trolls to the social platforms brings mixed results, but the more people who do so, the more likely action will be taken.
Post positive news. You can limit the power of disinformation trolls without directly responding to them by regularly talking about positive climate and energy news. This amplifies the truth and diminishes the lies.
Noteworthy News and Resources of the Week
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