"Online influencers, fossil fuel companies and some of the countries attending COP28 have nourished a feedback loop of falsehoods."

"As the world’s leaders gather this week at a major summit to discuss ways to address the effects of global warming, one of the greatest obstacles they face is disinformation.

Among the biggest sources of false or misleading information about the world’s weather, according to a report released this week: influential nations, including Russia and China, whose diplomats will be attending. Others include the companies that extract fossil fuels and the online provocateurs who make money by sharing claims that global warming is a hoax.

They spread diverse and frequently debunked falsehoods: Humans are not responsible for climate change; recent wildfires were enabled by arson rather than hotter and drier conditions; the world is cooling; oil and gas giants are leading the charge toward carbon neutrality; and warnings about the environment are an excuse for authoritarian elites to destabilize the developing world and force everyone into lockdown and onto a diet of insects and lab-grown food.

Their efforts have already significantly eroded the public pressure and political will needed to prevent a dire future for the planet, experts said."

Tiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers report for the New York Times November 30, 2023. [2]