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How to fight climate change misinformation

Feb. 6, 2026

Misinformation is a proven danger — and it poses a serious threat to the public support that’s needed to address the climate crisis. But misinformation can be hard to spot, and even more difficult to report and correct.

This how-to guide shares tips and tools for fighting climate misinformation, plus step-by-step instructions for identifying misinformation and reporting it on social media platforms.

5 ways you can fight climate change myths

  1. Ignore conspiracy theories on the Internet. Don’t give them more life by sharing them and spreading them further.
  2. Don’t repeat the lie. If you want to address a false claim, don’t repeat the lie itself, which can actually end up amplifying it.
  3. Make a “truth sandwich.” Combat myths with the truth, then correct the lie without repeating it, and finish with more truth.
  4. Don’t use partisan language or sources. They can cause people to tune out completely, which is the opposite of winning.
  5. Speak up. Use credible sources and scientific studies to contradict the lies with facts. And think about where you can make the biggest difference, whether that’s talking with friends and family or reporting misleading information on social media.

How to identify a suspicious post

If something catches your eye that doesn’t seem quite right — especially articles or posts that provoke strong emotions like anger or fear — run through this list of questions before sharing it online:

  • Do you recognize the source? Does it reference one that you can easily find?
  • Does the information in the post seem believable?
  • Is it written in the style you’d expect from a professional news organization?

How to verify articles and social media posts

If you answered no to any of the questions above, you can use any of these sites to double-check the facts:

  • Science Feedback is a worldwide network of scientists sorting fact from fiction in climate change and other media coverage.
  • PolitiFact, focused on U.S. politics, is part of the nonprofit Poynter Institute.
  • Snopes.com is one of the oldest and largest fact-checking sites online.
  • Lead Stories focuses on fact-checking trending stories, images, videos and posts.

How to report misinformation on social media

Here are instructions for getting social networks to take notice of misinformation:

Reporting misinformation on X

X has removed a feature that previously allowed users to report misinformation directly. X now has a community-driven content moderation program known as “Community Notes.” These notes add context (such as fact-checking) under a post.

If you have an X account that’s at least six months old, with a verified phone number and no recent violations of X’s rules, you can sign up to be a contributor who can submit notes on misleading posts, and help determine what notes will be publicly appended to posts.

Reporting misinformation on Instagram, Threads and Facebook

To report misinformation on Instagram or Threads, click the three dots by an account’s name to open “More options.” Then click “Report” and select “False information.”

On Facebook, you can report a post by clicking the three dots by an account’s name to open the “Options” menu. Then click “Report post,” and select, “Scam, fraud or false information.” Click “Sharing false information,” and select the kind of false information you see in the post.

Facebook, Instagram and Threads — all owned by the technology company Meta — have also begun implementing a “Community Notes” model similar to the one used on X, starting in the United States. This approach relies on contributors to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts.

To sign up to become a “Community Notes” contributor on Meta platforms, you must be at least 18 years old. You must also have a verified phone number and an account in good standing that’s at least six months old.

Reporting misinformation on YouTube

Step-by-step instructions (using YouTube from the U.S.):

1. Click on the three dots in the bottom right-hand corner, below the video, next to the “thumbs up”/“thumbs down” icons and the share function.

2. From the list that appears, click on “Report.”

3. Choose “misinformation” in the dropdown list and click “Next.”

4. Here you can ask YouTube to do more to combat climate misinformation. Suggested text you can use: “Please detox your algorithm, add ‘climate misinformation’ to your borderline-content policy and correct the record by working with independent fact-checkers to inform users who have seen or interacted with this video.”

Another easy way to help