COP28 Pre-Summit Report

The report identifies three primary ecosystems driving climate mis- and disinformation: the 'attention economy' of online influencers, state-affiliated networks (specifically Russia), and the fossil fuel lobby. It details how the #ClimateScam hashtag has gained prominence on X, how ad tech companies monetise websites hosting climate denial, how Russian state media instrumentalises climate topics for geopolitical influence, and how fossil fuel companies use Facebook advertising for greenwashing. The document argues that these efforts undermine the public mandate for Net Zero and calls for structural changes to digital platform incentives and greater transparency in ad tech.

• The hashtag #ClimateScam, used to promote denialist and conspiratorial content, has seen increased prominence on X (formerly Twitter) since 2022, outperforming #ClimateCrisis and #ClimateEmergency in monthly retweets and likes between December 2022 and October 2023.
• The virality of #ClimateScam on X is driven by a small group of high-engagement accounts, including Wide Awake Media, Tony Heller, Tom Fitton, and Anastasia Maria Loupis. The hashtag is also consistently recommended by X's autocomplete search function.
• Over 150 ad exchanges, including those owned by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Yahoo, enable the monetisation of climate mis- and disinformation on 15 key websites, such as Breitbart, Newsmax, and The Washington Times, despite having policies that ostensibly prohibit such content.
• Russian state media accounts use climate and energy topics as tools for geopolitical influence rather than consistent scientific messaging. They 'play both sides' by framing renewable energy and fossil fuels differently depending on whether the target audience is in Western countries or the Global South.
• Russian state-affiliated networks promote the continued extraction of fossil fuels globally, provided it is funded by Russia or its allies, and use pejorative framing (such as 'Klima-Kleber' or 'Climate Gollum') to discredit climate activists and figures like Greta Thunberg.
• Between 1 January and 31 October 2023, 13 fossil fuel companies spent between $4.13 million and $5.21 million on Facebook ads labelled as 'Social Issues, Elections or Politics', achieving at least 246 million impressions. Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, and TotalEnergies accounted for approximately 98% of this spend.
• The Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) specifically targeted countries in the Global South, particularly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with ads that used natural imagery to promote both renewable energy and oil and gas extraction.

APA

Climate Action Against Disinformation (n.d.). COP28 Pre-Summit Report. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Deny-Deceive-Delay-Vol.-3-1.pdf

Chicago

Climate Action Against Disinformation. COP28 Pre-Summit Report. n.d. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Deny-Deceive-Delay-Vol.-3-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Action Against Disinformation |title=COP28 Pre-Summit Report |url=https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Deny-Deceive-Delay-Vol.-3-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateactionagainstdisinformationndcop28, author = {{Climate Action Against Disinformation}}, title = {{COP28 Pre-Summit Report}}, institution = {Climate Action Against Disinformation}, url = {https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Deny-Deceive-Delay-Vol.-3-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }