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The report analyzes the recurrence of climate disinformation during extreme weather events in 2026, specifically focusing on wildfires in Canada, the US, and the UK, and heatwaves in the EU, Spain, and Portugal. It highlights the role of 'participatory disinformation' and the failure of social media platforms to act on advance warnings from organizations like CAAD and EDMO.

The briefing identifies a systematic 'escalation of doubt' strategy used by disinformation actors to minimize the role of climate change in wildfires. It details how narratives shift from attributing fires to criminal acts or government mismanagement to more extreme conspiracy theories, such as claims that fires are started to clear land for wind farms or lithium extraction. The document highlights the role of digital platforms' 'attention economy' in amplifying these lies, noting that in Canada, such disinformation has interfered with emergency services and public safety during crises. It concludes that 86% of Canadians support a federal plan to regulate the spread of climate disinformation during extreme weather events.

The document asserts that climate disinformation in Europe is an industrialised threat that distorts public debate, delays clean energy investment, and weakens crisis response. It highlights a failure in regulatory enforcement across the EU and UK, noting that while instruments like the Digital Services Act exist, they are unevenly applied. The authors advocate for limiting algorithmic amplification of misleading content and increasing media scrutiny to protect the conditions necessary for collective climate action.

The briefing discusses the systemic nature of climate disinformation, driven by the public relations industry and Big Tech algorithms for profit. It highlights Spain's initiative to hold digital platforms and executives legally accountable for the algorithmic amplification of illegal content and disinformation. The text also notes the European Union's endorsement of the UN Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change and the implementation of fossil fuel advertising bans in cities like The Hague, Amsterdam, and Florence as models for protecting the public from corporate-driven deception.

The report argues that the AI industry uses a 'bait-and-switch' greenwashing tactic, where the proven climate benefits of 'traditional' AI (such as predictive models) are used to justify the massive energy and water consumption of 'consumer generative AI' (such as ChatGPT). An analysis of 154 climate benefit claims found that 97% related to traditional AI, while only 3% related to consumer generative AI, with no evidence found that the latter leads to substantial emissions reductions. Furthermore, the report finds that evidence for these benefits is generally weak, with 36% of claims citing no evidence and only 26% citing published academic research. This narrative masks the immediate climate impacts of data centre expansion, which the report states is boosting demand for fossil fuels and risking the ability of regions like Ireland and Australia to meet carbon targets.

The document is an open letter from Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) and a coalition of 203 organizations and 202 experts. It argues that coordinated disinformation campaigns, primarily funded by the fossil fuel industry, are delaying the energy transition and sabotaging the Paris Agreement goals. The authors call on COP30 participants to move beyond the mere recognition of this threat to mandatory, verifiable actions that hold technology platforms, media, and the advertising sector accountable for the spread of manipulative content.

The document argues that coordinated climate disinformation, largely driven by the fossil fuel industry and amplified by Big Tech, constitutes a global emergency that delays the energy transition and threatens public health and human rights. It calls on COP30 participants to move beyond the mere recognition of this threat to implement mandatory, verifiable actions and regulatory measures against the monetization of disinformation and greenwashing.

The 2025 F-List identifies 1,217 fossil fuel contracts across 709 agencies in 74 countries, arguing that these ties facilitate climate disinformation and expose agencies to financial and reputational risks despite a global shift toward clean energy investment.

Following catastrophic flash floods in Central Texas in July 2025, digital discourse was dominated by cloud seeding conspiracy theories. These claims, which alleged that a program over 100 miles away triggered or worsened the floods, were amplified by GOP representatives including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Michael Flynn to reach millions of viewers on X.

The report finds that while a majority of respondents in Spain and the UK acknowledge human-caused climate change, a significant portion (70% in Spain and 60% in the UK) believed at least one false narrative regarding the causes of the April 2025 Iberian blackout. The most prevalent disinformation was that the blackout resulted from an 'over-reliance on renewable energy', a belief particularly strong among far-right voters. General attitudes toward energy sources are divided, with about half of respondents wrongly believing that net zero policies increase energy dependence or that abandoning oil and gas would cause extreme hardship for the poor. Despite this, over 70% of respondents in both countries believe preventing climate disinformation is necessary to protect freedom of speech. There is broad support for measures such as legally obligating social media companies to stop spreading misleading climate information, banning fossil fuel advertising, and increasing support for fact-checking organizations.

The document identifies a pattern of right-wing and fossil fuel-linked disinformation during Canadian wildfire seasons that downplays climate change and obstructs policy action. It urges Canadian policymakers to implement laws against greenwashing, define climate disinformation scientifically, and regulate the monetization and amplification of such content by tech platforms.

The document reports that a network of opaque online actors, some linked to the fossil fuel industry, used transnational right-wing networks and bot activity to spread false narratives about Canada's climate policies during the April 2025 election. It highlights the use of claims that climate policy would damage the economy and democracy, as well as allegations of a stolen election, while calling for stronger laws against disinformation and greenwashing.

The briefing identifies three primary disinformation narratives used to deflect from climate change during the 2025 Canadian wildfire season: the emphasis on arson (including conspiracy theories about 'climate change agendas'), claims of government mismanagement of resources, and accusations of 'fearmongering' by political leaders. Monitoring from April 21 to June 20, 2025, shows these narratives are most prevalent on X and right-wing outlets, often utilizing 'junk science' to discredit peer-reviewed data. The document recommends that Canadian policymakers enact laws against greenwashing, adopt a robust definition of climate disinformation, and require transparency from large online platforms to mitigate the influence of fossil fuel-backed disinformation networks.

Following a major power outage in Spain and Portugal on 28 April 2025, disinformation networks utilized social media algorithms to spread false claims attributing the event to renewables and net zero policies. The report notes that these falsehoods were often presented as speculation or news reporting to undermine climate solutions, mirroring patterns seen during extreme weather events.

The briefing examines the digital presence of fifteen influential agribusiness, mining, and fossil fuel companies in Brazil, finding that many employ corporate greenwashing and climate delay tactics. These tactics include the use of vague language, nature-rinsing imagery, and claims that lack supporting investments or actions. The report also notes the use of influencer partnerships and targeted digital advertising to amplify these messages, contrasting them with the companies' actual environmental records.

A network of up to 600 accounts on X has been identified spreading disinformation to influence the 2025 Canadian election, specifically targeting Mark Carney by claiming his firm, Brookfield, would benefit from the Liberal Party's "net zero agenda". CAAD identified at least 60 accounts with strong bot markers—such as lacking profile photos, bios, and original content—that primarily shared videos from right-wing and conspiratorial channels including Rebel News, Northern Perspective, and Moose on the Loose.

The report analyzes the spread of disinformation following a major power outage on the Iberian Peninsula on 28 April 2025. It identifies a pattern where initial speculation about cyberattacks transitioned into coordinated narratives blaming renewable energy and 'net zero' policies, largely driven by English-language actors and UK press. The document also details the emergence of conspiracy theories framing the event as a 'test run' for government control or a 'climate lockdown' linked to Agenda 2030. Analysis across Spanish, Portuguese, and English languages shows that X/Twitter was the primary vector for these narratives, while YouTube and TikTok favored conspiracy content.

A February 2025 survey of 1,000 Dutch citizens reveals strong cross-political support for measures to combat climate disinformation. A majority believe that banning misleading fossil fuel advertising (71%) and legally requiring Big Tech companies to stop spreading climate disinformation (79%) would be effective. While support is high, awareness of these specific policy options is lower, with only 30% of respondents having heard of increasing resources for fact-checking organizations. The report notes that older respondents are generally more convinced of the effectiveness of these measures than younger people, despite the latter being more exposed to online disinformation.

A survey of 1,000 Dutch citizens found broad cross-political support for regulatory measures to combat climate disinformation, including banning fossil fuel advertising and holding social media companies legally accountable for the amplification of false content. While a majority believe these measures are effective, awareness of specific policy options remains relatively low, particularly regarding the funding of fact-checking organizations.

The document details a campaign of coordinated inauthentic activity on social media platforms—primarily X, Facebook, and YouTube—attributed to Azerbaijan during the lead-up to and duration of COP29. It highlights the use of thousands of bot-like accounts to amplify pro-government and pro-fossil fuel messaging while drowning out criticism of the regime's human rights record and climate policies. The report criticizes Big Tech companies for failing to enforce policies against coordinated inauthentic behavior and calls for better guardrails in the COP Presidency process.