Clima Extremo, Conteúdo Extremo

The report by Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) analyzes the persistence of climate disinformation across digital platforms, highlighting how Big Tech infrastructure enables the spread of false narratives regarding renewable energy, extreme weather events, and fossil fuel industry claims. It details a growing crisis in researcher access to platform data and provides a set of policy recommendations to dismantle the 'economy of disinformation'.

• Climate disinformation narratives regarding renewable energy—specifically wind, solar, and electric vehicles (EVs)—remain consistent over time, often framing these technologies as tools for 'social control' linked to conspiracy theories like the 'Climate Lockdown' or the 'Great Reset'.
• Extreme weather events are being instrumentalized to promote conspiracy theories and incite violence. Examples include claims that wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, were caused by 'Directed Energy Weapons' (DEW) and false reports that FEMA withheld aid during hurricanes Helene and Milton in the US, as well as similar disinformation during floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• The fossil fuel industry uses Meta's advertising tools to 'greenwash' its image and delay the energy transition. Between October 24, 2023, and October 24, 2024, eight fossil fuel-linked entities spent over US$ 17.6 million on Meta ads, generating 700 million impressions, with BP being the highest spender among tracked companies.
• Researcher access to platform data is declining, hindering the ability to track climate disinformation in real-time. Meta discontinued Crowdtangle in August 2024, X's API has become prohibitively expensive, and TikTok's research API is restricted primarily to institutions in the US, EU, UK, and Switzerland.
• A small number of 'super-spreaders' significantly amplify false content. For instance, the account Wide Awake Media on X grew from 322 followers in March 2023 to over 578,000 by November 2024, often using 'topic stacking' to pair climate lies with other conspiracies.
• The report argues that disinformation persists because it is optimized for the 'attention economy' and profit. CAAD recommends that platforms stop profiting from the hosting of climate disinformation and implement 'inoculation' efforts to increase user resilience.

APA

Climate Action Against Disinformation (n.d.). Clima Extremo, Conteúdo Extremo. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pre-COP-Report_Portuguese.pdf

Chicago

Climate Action Against Disinformation. Clima Extremo, Conteúdo Extremo. n.d. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pre-COP-Report_Portuguese.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Action Against Disinformation |title=Clima Extremo, Conteúdo Extremo |url=https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pre-COP-Report_Portuguese.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateactionagainstdisinformationndclima, author = {{Climate Action Against Disinformation}}, title = {{Clima Extremo, Conteúdo Extremo}}, institution = {Climate Action Against Disinformation}, url = {https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pre-COP-Report_Portuguese.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }