Pinterest Becomes The First Social Media To Have A Policy To Fight False Claims On Climate Change

Pinterest has a new feature that censors climate change hoaxes. (photo; Doc. Pinterest)

JAKARTA - Pinterest has announced its new misinformation policy that will combat false and misleading claims about content claiming climate change on its platform.

That makes the company the only social network to have such a policy so far. Pinterest will now be able to remove content that denies climate change impacts, denies human influence on climate change and denies climate change supported by scientific consensus.

The policy will also remove false and misleading content about climate change solutions that go against scientific consensus, content that misrepresents scientific data either by negligence or erodes trust in climate science and experts.

Not only that, harmful and misleading content about public safety emergencies including natural disasters or extreme weather events will also be banned on the social media application with the red logo.

According to Pinterest, these new Community Guidelines apply not only to posts on social networks, but also to ads. Pinterest advertisers must follow the same rules and the guidelines will be updated to also ban ads containing conspiracy theories, misinformation and disinformation related to climate change.

“Pinterest believes in developing a trusted and honest space for those who use our platform. This bold move is an extension of our broader misinformation guidelines, which we first developed in 2017 to address public health misinformation, and have since been updated to address new and emerging issues as they emerge," said Pinterest's Head of Policy, Sarah Broma.

"The expanded climate misinformation policy is another step in Pinterest's journey to combat misinformation and create a safe online space."

Pinterest will also use a variety of methods to find and take action against ads that violate its new climate change policies, including a combination of automated systems and moderator investigations.

Later, Pinterest's Trust & Safety team will also review user reports of infringing content, such as those submitted via Pinterest-only tools to flag misinformation.

The change refers to an increase in user searches for topics related to sustainability and the environment. Over the past year, searches for zero-waste tips increased 6 times, recycled clothing ideas increased 4 times and searches for recycled home decor increased 95 percent, while searches for a zero-waste lifestyle were up 64 percent.

To further inspire inspiration around a greener lifestyle, Pinterest will launch a Creator Originals content series led by creators from the United States (US), UK, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Indonesia, and India, which will focus on things like saving tips, recycling clothes, minimizing food waste, and more.

More broadly, Pinterest has taken other actions aimed at making its network a more positive place. For example, in 2018 it stopped running political ads and supported mental health in 2019 by improving its search feature.