World-First AI monitoring uncovers alarming magnitude of climate misinformation on French TV and Radio

Posted on:  2025-04-10

Press Release

Paris, April 10, 2025 — In a groundbreaking first, an alliance of NGOs — Data For Good, QuotaClimat, and Science Feedback — has unveiled alarming findings (accessible here) from France’s first automated climate misinformation monitoring initiative. The project, powered by artificial intelligence and certified fact-checkers, reveals a significant spread of climate misinformation across traditional media (television and radio).

The analysis draws on data from the Observatoire des Médias sur l’Écologie and is part of the Climate Safeguards project. It exposes how mainstream media — once thought more resilient — are vectors of climate misinformation.

Key Findings

  • 128 verified cases of climate misinformation were detected over just three months — an average of 10 per week. This challenges the widespread assumption that misinformation is confined to social media.
  • Misinformation peaks during major political events, such as the week of Donald Trump’s inauguration and the launch of national climate policy consultations in France. This suggests that public debate is vulnerable to manipulation, especially during key democratic moments.
  • Sud Radio alone accounts for 31% of all identified climate misinformation, with the private media sector responsible for 85% of all cases.
  • Renewable energy and electric vehicles are the most targeted topics.
  • Only 2% of airtime on traditional media is devoted to environmental issues. This lack of coverage, combined with the volume of unreliable information, significantly increases the public’s exposure to manipulation on climate change.

The report calls for a proportionate response from journalists and regulators, and greater responsibility from advertisers. It also urges the public to be more critically aware of misinformation risks.

While awaiting the final report scheduled for September 2025, this interim note presents the initial quantitative findings, given their public significance and the interest they generate.

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