Article published by the Council on Strategic Risks, July 2025.
Climate mis- and disinformation have evolved from a policy nuisance into a significant peace and security threat. They fuel political division, erode trust in science, and create openings for extremist and authoritarian agendas. Narratives range from subtle scepticism to overt conspiracy theories and are amplified by actors exploiting climate-driven disasters, migration crises, and policy debates for personal and political gains.
Good news: The growing global attention
The issue is receiving striking research and diplomatic focus. In June, the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) published the first global, systematic review of climate misinformation. It mapped the most influential sources, traced the breadth of narratives, and identified their perverse impacts on public trust and climate policy. The report also revealed deep geographic imbalances in less wealthy contexts, with 70 studies on the United States compared to one on the entire African continent.
Diplomatically, momentum is emerging as well. In March, Brazil hosted the first Climate Information Integrity Summit as part of the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, which Brazil co-leads with the United Nations ahead of hosting COP30 in November. The initiative is a first-of-its-kind partnership between states and NGOs to fund research and action against climate mis- and disinformation. However, government endorsement is currently limited to Brazil, Chile, Denmark, France, Morocco, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Bad news: The political and technological setbacks
While these initiatives advance, counterforces are accelerating. In the United States, the Trump Administration has dismantled credible climate information channels, weakened scientific agencies, and shut down the State Department’s Global Engagement Centre, a hub for countering foreign disinformation from actors such as Russia and China. President Trump, himself has also propagated several false claims.
Meanwhile, technology is amplifying the risks. In June, Elon Musk signalled a desire to retrain xAI’s Grok, which has already been adjusted to indulge climate denial and white supremacist talking points. In Canada, a pre-election deepfake of Prime Minister Mark Carney spread widely, and 500 municipalities received polished AI-generated emails citing climate misinformation to oppose net-zero policies, from a group mimicking an environmental brand and tied to an anti-COVID-vaccine activist. With platforms backpedalling on content moderation, these trends threaten social cohesion and invite extremist or foreign meddling.
The way forward:
To address this escalating threat, efforts must:
- Integrate climate misinformation into security and geopolitical analysis, including misinformation triggered by climate impacts and policies.
- Tailor approaches to national contexts, closing research gaps in the Global South while tackling unresolved issues in the Global North.
- Situate climate misinformation within broader technological, political, and informational trends.
- Mobilize a diverse coalition of actors, from the UN and national governments to local authorities, private sector innovators, civil society, and the public.
This is no longer a niche communications issue. Climate mis- and disinformation is a strategic threat that demands urgent, coordinated, and globally inclusive action.
This text is based on extracts from an article written by Tom Ellison, July 2025. To read the complete piece, follow the link here.