Climate change denial content upsurge on Youtube, young minds on target

A new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate says that climate denial on YouTube is becoming more concerning. The report warns that teenagers are being swayed by a new type of climate denial content on YouTube.

According to a survey by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, almost one-third of UK teenagers aged 13-17 believe that climate change is being intentionally exaggerated.

YouTube videos now deny climate solutions

The report investigates how YouTube, a popular social media platform among teenagers, spreads climate denial. This comes after the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report stated that misinformation and disinformation are the biggest short-term threats to global security.

Previously, climate deniers mostly advocated the belief that climate breakdown was not occurring or, if it was, humans did not cause it. Now, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) finds that most climate denial videos on YouTube advocate the idea that climate solutions are ineffective, climate science and the climate movement are unreliable, or that global heating effects benefit or do no harm.

The CCDH researchers gathered a dataset of text transcripts from 12,058 climate-related YouTube videos that 96 channels posted over nearly six years, from 1 January 2018 to 30 September 2023. They also incorporated the results of a nationally representative survey that polling company Survation conducted.

The survey revealed 31% of UK respondents aged 13 to 17 agreeing with the statement “Climate change and its effects are being purposefully exaggerated”. The percentage increased to 37% among teenagers categorized as heavy users of social media, defined as those reporting usage of any one platform for more than four hours a day.

“New Denial” narratives have been popularized by online figures such as Jordan Peterson (7.62 million subscribers), and have been championed on channels such as BlazeTV (1.92 million subscribers) and PragerU (3.21 million subscribers).

What are ‘new climate denial’ narratives?

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has noticed a significant change in the narratives around climate denial. Previously, two main false ideas formed the basis of climate denial: that global warming isn't real, or that humans don't cause it.

Now, three main claims have shifted the denial: that climate change solutions won't work, that we can't trust climate science and the climate movement and that global warming effects are either good or harmless.

CCDH’s CEO, Imran Ahmed, says that because scientists have successfully educated the public about climate change and its causes, those against climate action have started to undermine trust in the solutions and the science itself.

In 2018, these new denial narratives made up 35% of all climate denial content on YouTube. Now, they make up the majority (70%). At the same time, the old denial narratives have decreased from 65% to 30%.

The authors of the report believe that the shift is due to the increased acceptance and indisputability of scientific evidence. Therefore, those who want to promote climate denial and delay have to discredit the solutions and the people advocating for climate action.

YouTube profits from climate denial accounts

In October 2021, Google, which owns YouTube, made a significant move to discourage climate denial content. It banned ads and the making of money from such videos. Advertisers who didn't want their ads shown next to false information about climate change drove this decision.

However, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found ads from well-known brands like Hilton Hotels and Nike on videos that deny climate change. They also found paid ads from charities like Save the Children.

The CCDH’s new report criticizes YouTube in three major ways. First, it says that YouTube could be making up to $13.4 million (about €12,000) a year from ads on channels that post climate denial content.

Second, it states that YouTube's rules do not address the new types of climate denial that dishonest people are now heavily using. Lastly, it says that YouTube isn’t properly enforcing its existing policy against making money from videos that promote ‘old denial’.

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