Understanding and Tackling Climate Disinformation: EDMO Network Initiatives
Climate-related disinformation poses a significant challenge to the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. EDMOeu, together with its 14 EDMO Hubs covering all EU Member States and Norway, actively monitor and address the risks this type of disinformation poses to society. The EDMO network publishes investigations and monthly fact-checking briefs monitoring critical issues for disinformation, with climate-related disinformation emerging as a trend. To date, the EDMO fact-checking repository hosts 1,874 articles on climate disinformation, produced by the entire network.
Below are some highlights on how EDMO and its Hubs have been addressing climate disinformation in the last six months, and some upcoming initiatives.
Belgium-Luxembourg Research Hub on Digital Media and Disinformation (EDMO BELUX)
EDMO BELUX has published multiple fact-checks on climate disinformation, including 25 fact checks in Luxembourgish, 25 in French, and 5 in German. Among main narratives are claims that the color of weather maps was changed to exaggerate global warming, assertations that the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires were deliberately started to build a smart city, and false claims about the recycling process of the Valorlux bags used in Luxembourg.
On 24 February 2025, EDMO BELUX welcomed Dr. Anaïs Augé for a webinar on Sceptical argumentation in climate crisis discourse. The lecture was moderated by Sabri Derinöz and can be viewed on the EDMO BELUX YouTube channel.
Watch the video
Belgium-Netherlands Digital Media Observatory (BENEDMO)
The BENEDMO network collaborated to address main disinformation narratives around the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which took place in 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The work was done by BENEDMO consortium members VRT and Factcheck.Vlaanderen (KUL), associated partners Knack and deCheckers, as the Dutch Nieuwscheckers (LEIDEN). Narratives include geoengineering and weather modification, incorrect amounts of climate aid for developing countries, false claims on countries representatives at the event, and more.
Central-European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO)
In March 2025, CEDMO published the study Nature-based and geo-engineering climate mitigation technologies: public acceptance and security prospects. The study examines public attitudes in Czech Republic toward six climate change mitigation strategies: reforestation in previously forested areas, afforestation in new terrains, direct CO2 capture with underground storage, biomass energy with CO2 capture, stratospheric sulfate aerosols, and orbital mirrors.
The hub regularly integrates climate-related topics into its research questionnaires, assessing the reach and impact of disinformation narratives already circulating among the public. From the research conducted in January and February 2025, CEDMO identified two circulating disinformation narratives denying climate science. The first claims that global warming has not increased the frequency of natural disasters – a statement found credible by 31% of Czech and 30% of Slovak residents; the second asserts that Arctic ice is increasing, instead of disappearing, a statement which approximately a quarter of the population believes in (24% in Czechia, 26% in Slovakia). A CEDMO Special Fact Checking Brief, due to be published in Fall 2025 will include these and other insights into Czech and Slovak attitudes toward climate change.
In December 2025, a study will be published based on an analysis of social media content related to renewable energy sources and climate change denial.
Observatoire de l’information et des medias (De Facto)
Since the beginning of its second project cycle, De Facto has published 13 fact checks related to climate disinformation. Topics addressed span from chemtrails, climate change affecting Earth temperatures, pesticides and more.
Iberian Digital Media Observatory (IBERIFIER)
On 27 February 2025 the hub organised the webinar Disinformation in times of crisis: the case of DANA in Valencia, featuring fact checkers from IBERIFIER. The recording of the session is available on the IBERIFIER YouTube channel.
Watch the video
On 14 May 2025, took place the webinar Iberian perspectives on eco media literacy: Analyzing environmental stories from Portugal and Spain. Carolina Fernandez-Castrillo and Vítor Tomé, two researchers belonging to the IBERIFIER consortium, presented some of the current lines of work in the field of eco-media literacy in Spain and Portugal.
A comprehensive report outlining the experimental methodology and presenting the results of a preliminary test is scheduled for publication by the end of July. The test is aimed at analysing the reactions of young audiences to various videos addressing climate-related disinformation.
Italian Digital Media Observatory (IDMO)
As part of its ongoing commitment to tackling climate-related disinformation, IDMO has launched a new series of short educational videos made by Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana, the national Italian broadcaster) available also in English on RaiPlay. The series explores how natural disasters are increasingly exploited to spread false narratives, focusing on the role of AI-generated images in fueling climate disinformation.
Two recent episodes address key cases: “The City of Angels and the Hoaxes” examines the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, where viral deepfakes showed the Hollywood sign engulfed in flames and a charred Oscar statue, despite no evidence supporting these images. “Climate of Conspiracy” explores the October 2024 floods in Valencia, Spain, which triggered a wave of unfounded conspiracy theories online, from cloud seeding to ionospheric radio waves, misattributing blame for the disaster.
These media literacy products aim to strengthen citizens’ resilience against disinformation by equipping them with practical tools to critically assess climate-related content online. The first series, launched in May 2025, has already reached over 100 million contacts, demonstrating a strong public interest in building resilience to disinformation.
Mediterranean Digital Media Observatory (MedDMO)
Since the start of the MedDMO project, the hub has published 81 fact checks related to climate addressing, among others, cloud seeding techniques to manipulate the environment, claims that electric vehicles pollute more than gasoline-powered ones, and unfounded claims about green energy and droughts.
MedDMO is studying how young audiences respond to climate-related disinformation by systematically varying the format (text, image, audio, video) and framing of the messages. The disinformation content used in the study is drawn from climate disinformation narratives that have been debunked by MedDMO fact-checkers, ensuring the material reflects current trends.
The study aims to understand how disinformation affects trust in climate information and sources, shapes emotional and cognitive reactions, and influences willingness to take climate action. It also explores how visual framing—specifically the inclusion or exclusion of images—impacts these effects. More information about this study will be available in MedDMO’s impact assessment of disinformation campaigns report, which will be published in August 2025.
The European Digital Media Observatory Ireland Hub (EDMO Ireland)
On 12 December 2024, Dr. Eileen Culloty, Coordinator of EDMO Ireland, delivered a presentation to the Irish Department of Transport on the role of disinformation in shaping public understanding and debate around climate change. The presentation was part of an expert briefing on information integrity in the context of climate policy.
European Digital Media Observatory (EDMOeu)
In June 2025, EDMOeu launched a thematic Training Series on Climate Disinformation. The first training module, titled Understanding climate disinformation and held on 2 July, explored the problem of climate disinformation, its history, the actors behind it and its narratives in different European countries.
Watch the recording of the session
The second module, titled Responding to climate disinformation and held on 10 July, zoomed into effective responses to climate disinformation, bringing in insights from experts and practitioners active in the field. Discover here more information on the second module.