Pinterest is first major tech platform to roll out a climate misinformation policy
Pinterest has become the first major digital platform to introduce a comprehensive misinformation policy to combat false or misleading claims around climate change.
According to the company’s newly updated misinformation guidelines, Pinterest will now be able to remove content that denies the existence of impacts of climate change, denies human influence on climate change and denies climate change is backed by scientific consensus, among other things.
It will also remove false and misleading content about climate change solutions that contradict scientific consensus, content that misrepresents scientific data either by omission or cherry-picking in order to erode trust in climate science and experts and harmful and misleading content about public safety emergencies including natural disasters and extreme weather events.
The company noted the new Community guidelines don’t only apply to posts on the social network, but also to ads. Pinterest advertisers will have to follow the same rules and the Pinterest Advertising guidelines were updated to also prohibit ads containing conspiracy theories, misinformation and disinformation related to climate change.
“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. The expanded climate misinformation policy is yet another step in Pinterest’s journey to combat misinformation and create a safe space online,” said Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s head of Policy, in a statement about the announcement.
The company says it relied on input from partnered experts, including the Climate Disinformation Coalition and the Conscious Advertising Network, to help develop and inform its new policy decisions.
The change follows what Pinterest says has been an increase in user searches for topics related to sustainability and the environment. Over the past year, searches for “zero waste tips” increased by 6x, “recycling clothes ideas” were up by 4x and searches for “recycled home decor” were up 95%, while “zero waste lifestyle” searches were up 64%.
To encourage further inspiration around greener lifestyles, Pinterest will launch a Creator Originals content series led by creators from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Indonesia and India, which will focus on things like thrifting tips, upcycling clothes, minimizing food waste and more. It will also offer ad credits to select organizations, including Project Drawdown and Potential Energy Coalition, the organization powering Science Moms.
The new policy follows increased awareness of businesses’ role in addressing climate change.
