Preliminary Results of the Automated Detection of Climate Misinformation in French Television and Radio NOTE

The report identifies 128 instances of climate disinformation and 373 narratives of inaction in French audiovisual media between January and March 2025. It highlights a significant concentration of disinformation in private media, particularly Sud Radio, and notes spikes in misleading content during major political events such as Donald Trump's inauguration. The analysis finds that energy and mobility are the most targeted sectors, with a strong tendency to discredit green transition solutions and messengers. The authors argue that traditional media are becoming catalysts for the normalization of climate disinformation, exacerbated by low overall airtime dedicated to environmental issues (2%) and a lack of journalistic challenge to inaccurate claims during interviews.

• Between January 1 and March 31, 2025, 128 verified cases of climate disinformation were detected in French traditional media, averaging approximately ten cases per week.
• Climate disinformation is heavily concentrated in the private media sector, which accounts for 81% of identified content. Sud Radio is a primary contributor, responsible for 45% of the relative portion of all detected climate disinformation in news programming.
• Disinformation spikes correlate with major political events. The week of Donald Trump's inauguration saw a 150% increase in climate disinformation, with 41% of transcripts from that week explicitly referencing Trump.
• Energy (50%) and mobility (47%) are the most targeted topics for disinformation, specifically focusing on renewable energy sources and electric vehicles.
• A separate analysis of 'discourses of inaction' identified 373 cases. The majority (61%) focus on discrediting climate crisis solutions, 24% target messengers of the net-zero transition, and 13% deny or minimize scientific consensus.
• Environmental issues receive very limited coverage in French news programs, accounting for only 2% of total airtime in early 2025, which the report suggests increases public vulnerability to disinformation.

APA

QuotaClimat (2025). Preliminary Results of the Automated Detection of Climate Misinformation in French Television and Radio NOTE. https://quotaclimat.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Desinformation-climatique_avril2025_UK_NEW_DEF-1.pdf

Chicago

QuotaClimat. Preliminary Results of the Automated Detection of Climate Misinformation in French Television and Radio NOTE. 2025. https://quotaclimat.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Desinformation-climatique_avril2025_UK_NEW_DEF-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=QuotaClimat |title=Preliminary Results of the Automated Detection of Climate Misinformation in French Television and Radio NOTE |date=April 2025 |url=https://quotaclimat.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Desinformation-climatique_avril2025_UK_NEW_DEF-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{quotaclimat2025preliminary, author = {{QuotaClimat}}, title = {{Preliminary Results of the Automated Detection of Climate Misinformation in French Television and Radio NOTE}}, institution = {QuotaClimat}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://quotaclimat.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Desinformation-climatique_avril2025_UK_NEW_DEF-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }