Pinterest Bans Climate Misinformation From Posts and Ads

Pinterest will ban ads and posts with climate misinformation in the latest effort to block harmful content on its virtual pinboard service, the company said Wednesday.

The ban includes any content that denies the existence or impact of climate change, or that denies human influence on global warming, and that this phenomenon has scientific consensus. Posts that are inaccurate about natural disasters and extreme weather events will also be removed, and will also misrepresent scientific data through omissions or cherry picking to undermine trust. into climate science.

Sustainability searches are on the rise on Pinterest, with queries for “zero-waste lifestyle” growing 64% over the past year.

In October, Google said it would no longer show ads on YouTube videos and other content promoting inaccurate claims about climate change. Some publications have stopped accepting advertising from companies that use fossil fuels, while advertising agencies increasingly turn away from the industry.

A report released this week by a panel of experts convened by the United Nations concluded that countries must significantly cut fossil fuel emissions in the coming years to avert catastrophic levels. harmful effects of global warming.

Pinterest has blocked several categories of ads over the years, banning ads that show culturally appropriate and inappropriate clothing in 2016, anti-vaccination content in 2017, political ads in 2018, and advertising. announced weight loss in 2021. In response, companies like Shapermint have changed with Pinterest.

Ads make up all of Pinterest’s revenue. The company declined to say how many ads it has encountered climate misinformation in the past, saying it used human moderators, automated systems and user reports to do so. enforce its policies.

Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s head of policy, said the company wants to stop misinformation before it becomes widespread on the site. Tech giants like Meta and Twitter have faced backlash from users and advertisers for allowing hate speech, conspiracy theories and misleading content on their services. .

“We always want to make sure our policies are forward-looking, that we don’t wait until we’re flooded with some sort of harmful content to move,” she said. “At that point, it was too late.”