Falsehoods and Forecasts: Our 2025 Predictions for Climate Disinformation

Global Witness predicts that climate disinformation will increase in 2025, driven by extreme weather events, the monetization of climate denial via AdTech and generative AI, and targeted campaigns against climate defenders during COP30 in Brazil. The organization calls for the robust enforcement of the EU's Digital Services Act to hold social media platforms accountable.

• Extreme weather events are expected to trigger increased waves of climate disinformation in 2025, following 2024 trends where events like Hurricane Helene and floods in Spain sparked conspiracy theories regarding weather manipulation and geoengineering. This trend is exacerbated by a US administration hostile to climate action and Meta's decision to end its US fact-checking programme.
• Profiting from climate denial is predicted to increase in 2025 due to the use of generative AI to create sensationalist content and the exploitation of online AdTech systems. Global Witness notes that The Epoch Times generated nearly $1.5 million in combined revenue for Google and its owners over 12 months despite policies against climate denial advertisements.
• Disinformation campaigns are expected to target climate defenders and the COP30 conference in Brazil. Potential threats include agribusinesses spreading disinformation about environmental damage and coordinated harassment of Indigenous communities defending their land.
• To combat these trends, Global Witness advocates for the robust enforcement of the European Union's Digital Services Act to ensure social media platforms are held accountable for failing to tackle dangerous climate disinformation.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Falsehoods and Forecasts: Our 2025 Predictions for Climate Disinformation. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/falsehoods-and-forecasts-our-2025-predictions-for-climate-disinformation/

Chicago

Global Witness. Falsehoods and Forecasts: Our 2025 Predictions for Climate Disinformation. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/falsehoods-and-forecasts-our-2025-predictions-for-climate-disinformation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=Falsehoods and Forecasts: Our 2025 Predictions for Climate Disinformation |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/falsehoods-and-forecasts-our-2025-predictions-for-climate-disinformation/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndfalsehoods, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Falsehoods and Forecasts: Our 2025 Predictions for Climate Disinformation}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/falsehoods-and-forecasts-our-2025-predictions-for-climate-disinformation/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }