We exposed the shift to New Climate Denial
In January 2024, our groundbreaking AI-powered research “The New Climate Denial” showed that climate deniers are changing tactics on YouTube: instead of spreading outright denial, they’re now undermining the climate movement, science and solutions.
The campaign
CCDH’s New Climate Denial campaign called on Google to enforce its climate policy and stop profiting from ads on climate denial content.
On Earth Day 2024, CCDH led 24 organizations and experts in sending a letter to Google demanding the company to demonetize and stop amplifying climate denial content. The letter was signed by climate groups and academics, including Friends of the Earth, Professor Sander van der Linden, and Kairos Fellows.
Success
- Actor Mark Ruffalo recorded a powerful video to promote our New Climate Denial campaign.
- UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, shared her support on X.
- In April, our CEO Imran Ahmed spoke about climate disinformation in former US Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project training, in New York.
- After we sent our letter to Google, the Heartland Institute, a leading climate denial think tank, said that YouTube has now limited their ability to profit from their climate denial videos. In our New Climate Denial research, we found ads were running on Heartland Institute’s videos claiming renewable energy is “environmentally devastating” and that key climate science papers are “garbage”. The organization will no longer profit from ads on climate denial.
Press Impact
- CNN: “What is ‘new denial?’ An alarming wave of climate misinformation is spreading on YouTube, watchdog says”
- Financial Times: “Online wave of climate change denial tries to undermine green solutions, study says”
- Reuters: “YouTube making money off new breed of climate denial, monitoring group says”
- The Guardian: “Third of UK teenagers believe climate change exaggerated, report shows”
- NBC: “On YouTube, climate denialism takes a turn”
- NPR: “Living on Earth” podcast
- Logically Facts: “What is the ‘new climate denial’ and how does it impact our response to climate change?”
- MSNBC: “Yes, it’s cold. Yes, the planet’s still warming”
Policy Impact
- Partners from the climate sector endorsed the importance of our report and campaign, including Friends of the Earth’s Climate Disinformation Program Director, Michael Koo, and Greenpeace USA’s Senior Strategist Charlie Cray.
- US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse sent a quote condemning digital platforms for enabling New Climate Denial claims.
- Key Congressional leaders were briefed on the report