Pinterest have decided to stick their necks out and tackle climate misinformation – this is a biggie as first of all it has to be defined and then it has to be regulated. Climate change is something that Pinners are engaged with however and Pinterest have decided it’s a noble course to pursue.
Ensuring that Pinners find ideas from trusted sources no matter what type of inspirations they are looking to discover on the platform —from how they cook, the way they shop, build their home, and how to live a more sustainable life —is important to Pinterest. That’s why Pinterest is rolling out their new climate misinformation policy to keep false and misleading claims around climate change off the platform.
“Our new policy makes Pinterest the only major digital platform to have clearly defined guidelines against false or misleading climate change information, including conspiracy theories, across content and ads.”
– Pinterest
As part of their community guidelines on misinformation and disinformation, the Pinterest climate misinformation policy removes content that may harm the public’s well-being, safety or trust, including:
- Content that denies the existence or impacts of climate change, the human influence on climate change, or that climate change is backed by scientific consensus.
- False or misleading content about climate change solutions that contradict well-established scientific consensus.
- Content that misrepresents scientific data, including by omission or cherry-picking, in order to erode trust in climate science and experts.
- Harmful false or misleading content about public safety emergencies including natural disasters and extreme weather events. All ads on Pinterest always have to comply with Pinterest Community guidelines.
Advertising guidelines for climate misinformation
Pinterest have also updated Advertising guidelines to explicitly prohibit any 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
– Sarah Bromma, Head of Policy, Pinterest
Searches for a greener life are rising on Pinterest. People are regularly turning to Pinterest to find ideas to incorporate sustainability into their entire lifestyle as searches for “zero waste tips” were 6X greater, “recycling clothes ideas” were 4X higher, “recycled home decor” increased by +95% and “zero waste lifestyle” increased by +64% compared to last year.*
Tackling issues like climate change or misinformation are complex, and requires the support and collaboration of an entire ecosystem. Pinterest have partnered with experts including the Climate Disinformation Coalition and the Conscious Advertising Network to help inform and develop their policy based on common misinformation themes they’re seeing across media platforms
Climate disinformation on digital platforms is a serious threat to the public support needed to solve the climate crisis. Pinterest has demonstrated great leadership by creating a community standard that includes a definition of climate misinformation, and we will continue to press all platforms for transparency and reporting on their actions. We encourage others to take note of Pinterest’s efforts to reduce climate change disinformation.
– Michael Khoo, Climate Disinformation Co-Chair, Friends of the Earth
Inspiring a Better Future
To fuel inspiration around living a greener life, Pinterest Creators from the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Indonesia and India will launch a Creator Originals content series on the platform. Their Idea Pins will work to inspire Pinners to learn more about thrifting tips, upcycling clothes and minimising food waste, among other topics.
Additionally, Pinners searching for relevant topics like “eco friendly living” and “sustainable living” will see a Pin that will take them to an article of the day until Earth Day—featuring curated boards and inspired content around sustainability.
We will continue to inspire a better future both on our platform and within our communities by supporting the work of Project Drawdown and Potential Energy Coalition, the organization powering Science Moms, with donations to support their programmatic work as well as ad credits to elevate their content on Pinterest. With our climate misinformation policy, Pinterest can help the world make more informed decisions in their everyday lives to create a better, greener future for all.
– Pinterest
It is unequivocal that climate misinformation combined with advertising tools delays meaningful climate action. The Conscious Advertising Network is delighted to partner with Pinterest who is taking a genuine leadership position by publishing this robust, well-considered and comprehensive climate misinformation policy. We look forward to the continued collaboration and call on all other tech platforms to follow Pinterest’s lead.
– Jake Dubbins, Co-Chair, Conscious Advertising Network
