Pinterest rolls out new climate misinformation policy
Pinterest has rolled out a new policy that will make it the first and only major digital platform to have clearly defined guidelines against climate misinformation.
The new policy extends across both organic and paid content, banning false or misleading climate change content and conspiracy theories on the platform.
The new climate misinformation policy removes content that denies the existence or impacts of climate change and will remove false or misleading content about climate change solutions that contradict well-established scientific consensus.
“Pinterest believes in cultivating a space that’s trusted and truthful for those using our platform. This bold move is an expansion of our broader misinformation guidelines, which we first developed in 2017 to address public health misinformation, and have since updated to address new and emerging issues as they come to the forefront”, said Pinterest’s Head of Policy Sarah Bromma.
On top of this, the firm has updated its advertising guidelines to explicitly prohibit any ads containing conspiracy theories, misinformation and disinformation related to climate change.
The news comes after a recent investigation found that fellow tech giant Facebook had algorithms that actually drove climate sceptic towards more extreme forms of disinformation rather than shifted them away from it.