DISINFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE REGAINS TRACTION, DISINFORMATION ON MIGRATION-RELATED ISSUES DOUBLES
The 37 organizations* part of the EDMO fact-checking network that contributed to this brief published a total of 1.642 fact-checking articles in January 2025. Out of these articles, 100 (6%) focused on Ukraine-related disinformation; 150 (9%) on climate change-related disinformation; 95 (6%) on disinformation related to the EU; 28 (2%) on the Middle Eastern regional conflict; 72 (4%) on COVID-19-related disinformation; 108 (7%) on disinformation related to immigration; and 26 (2%) on disinformation about LGBTQ+ and gender issues. Disinformation about climate change increased by three percentage points in January, making the climate crisis the most targeted issue of the month by false stories. The number of baseless claims about migration-related issues also grew, with the related percentage more than doubling compared to December 2024. The percentage of disinformation related to the war in Ukraine decreased slightly, as did false stories on COVID-19-related issues. The shares of false information about the other constantly monitored topics remained almost stable or showed only minor fluctuations.
CALIFORNIA BURNS, DISINFORMATION GOES VIRAL
Massive wildfires devastated Southern California in January and, as it happened in the context of other climate disasters in recent years, false stories tried to exploit the situation. Social media have been flooded with a variety of claims proven false by independent fact-checkers and publicly available evidence, trying to convey propaganda messages and conspiracy theories.
First of all, out-of-context images and videos have been used to attract the attention of social media users, along with a number of AI-generated items (see slide 6). By blaming them for starting the fires, false information also sought to incite hatred against specific minorities: baseless claims suggested that the fires were started by “illegal immigrants” (also accused of stealing in evacuated houses), that the alleged LGBTQ+ leadership of the local fire department was to blame or that the situation was badly managed because of the diversity and inclusion programs, a rhetoric also adopted by US President Donald Trump. Conspiracist content suggested that strange meteorological phenomena, laser beams, chemtrails, and energy weapons were used to deliberately start or control the fires in order to destroy the area and make way for smart city projects. At the same time, since the fires also hit very rich neighborhoods, false claims suggested that some villas burned down belonged to Ukrainian high-level officials or the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in an attempt to depict them as living a luxurious life.
As usual in the wave of extreme meteorological events, climate denialism, false stories
alleging the ineffectiveness and dangerousness of climate measures,
and conspiracy theories resurfaced.
Read all the paper here
