Climate myths in social media

Several surveys in recent years have shown that a steady proportion of Norwegians do not believe that climate change is man-made, or that human activity is not the main cause of global warming.

In this analysis, we have examined the extent of established myths surrounding climate change, climate policy and climate action circulating on Facebook and Twitter/X. The analysis has looked at the general debate about the climate problem and solutions and is based on just over 1 million comments and tweets from the period 1.1.2020 - 1.6.2024.

Main findings from the report:

- Climate myths are common on Facebook. When climate is discussed in the comment fields of Norwegian politicians and media on Facebook, 43 percent of the comments contain climate myths.

- Climate myths have become more common on X/Twitter since 2022, with an observed increase from 12% to 27%

- Climate myths flourish in echo chambers on Facebook. In some Facebook groups, climate myths account for more than 70 percent of the entire climate debate. These groups reach hundreds of thousands of users.

The report was prepared on behalf of the Bellona Environmental Foundation, with support from the Sparebankstiftelsen.