As companies face increasing pressure to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner and Earth Day brings waves of announcements of environmental accomplishments and promises, greenwashing is increasingly prevalent, while pure climate denial runs rampant across social media. Greenwashing is the use of false or misleading marketing to create the impression of environmental responsibility without any underlying change. It often takes the form of “net zero” pledges that rely on complex, often-dubious “carbon offset” claims or ignore a company’s Scope 3 emissions, the Washington Post reports.
Greenwashing can also take the form of media sponsorship by major polluters in order to promote or highlight their “green” efforts. Meanwhile, a new report from Friends of the Earth, Avaaz, and Greenpeace USA finds social media companies, (in order from worst to least-worst:) Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Youtube, and Pinterest, are failing to effectively and transparently address climate disinformation on their platforms, including from major oil companies who have lied about climate science for decades. (Greenwashing: (Washington Post $, The Verge; Chevron/Houston Public Media: Gizmodo; Social media: Gizmodo, The Hill; Big Oil lies: The Guardian)