Climate lies: the COP president’s worst nightmare is real
Oii is the Observatory for Information Integrity, focusing on climate, environment, and democracy. Come take a look
(“Oii!” is also Brazil’s way of saying “heyy!”. You might notice some wordplay throughout this newsletter…)
After five years of tracking a supply chain of lies worth US$78 billion* with our Mentira Tem Preço (Lies Have a Price), the time has come to share the truth about climate lies and disinformation in Brazil that few know and many want to hide. Here we go...
The COP president's
worst nightmare has come true
If the corridors of Baku at COP29 were buzzing with talk of the next COP in Brazil, as if it were the next World Cup, the feeling on digital platforms and messaging apps is very different. Instead of the 'super positive' COP for Brazil that the president of COP30, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, has been dreaming of, it’s his 'worst nightmare', as he put it in a recent interview with Roda Viva. Why? LIES.
The COP of disinformation is real, and the strategy is to weaken the UN conference that has been trying for so long to resolve one of our biggest crises, the climate crisis, and to cast doubt on Brazil's role as host.
The climate conference in Belém will be competing with at least two events designed to undermine its impact: the first is CPAC, in Manaus, Amazonas - a conservative conference organised in Brazil by Eduardo Bolsonaro (who may have to attend from afar, as he has gone to the US with no planned return date). The second event is the so-called ‘Agro COP’, in Marabá, Pará, organised by the Association of Independent Rural Producers of the Amazon.
These two events, which will take place in close proximity to the Belém COP in terms of both geography and timing, were created to stir things up on social media against the climate conference.
(Let's face it, the statements about drilling for oil at the mouth of the Amazon river haven’t helped either).
* Link to the study
So, how does this whole supply chain of lies work?
To get things moving, we need algorithms that work 24/7 without any transparency; lies that compete in the race without taking doping tests — an MIT study showed that lies spread 70 per cent faster than truthful information; companies that profit from all this; and clicks and views — yes, ours, from the very people being harmed —that reward the system with power, influence and lots of money.
In many channels and posts, do Lago, the president of the COP, is portrayed as the Brazilian 'deep state', working at the service of the 'globalists' and committed to the 'green agenda' against national sovereignty. Let’s take a moment to translate this conspiracy jargon:
Deep state is the new buzzword on the block, and even the rich and famous are talking about it. It supposedly refers to a hidden group secretly running the government. (in which case, they must be experts at playing hide-and-seek…)
Globalist is an older term, but it hasn’t gone out of fashion. It’s used to label anything that is anti-patriotic, implying a glorious struggle of the homeland and its traditions against the rest of the world - a very effective tool of the populist right.
The Green Agenda is actually a real thing; it's a nickname for the 2030 Agenda, a global action plan with 17 sustainable development goals. For some, however, it's basically a dirty word, which points to a supposed plot to push “woke capitalism” and take away individual freedoms and stand in the way of progress.
And no, I’m not going to explain “woke capitalism” right now. We’d be here all day…
Will you help us reach more people?
The uproar about Ambassador Corrêa do Lago becoming COP30 president prompted a wave of YouTube posts. From there, the lies spread through other platforms — a classic strategy, as noted in 2022 by Leonardo Nascimento, a researcher on disinformation networks and professor at the Federal University of Bahia. “YouTube is undoubtedly the great protagonist of disinformation and is at the centre of production… it’s as if the apps are the street dealers and YouTube is the crack house.”
WHO
Kim Paim, digital influencer - cited in the Federal Police investigation into the Abin Paralela case as a ‘propagation vector’ of disinformation.
FOLLOWERS
Youtube (824,000) and X/Twitter (1.6 million)
PUBLICATION
21 January 2025, on X
VIEWS
57 thousand
There’s nothing new here - just the same old lies popping up again like an ex you keep going back to.
“We learnt in biology and chemistry that everything contains carbon. Carbon is a sign of life. So I don't understand...'. Hm, neither do we. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is public enemy number one among the greenhouse gases.
WHO
Revista Oeste, which has already been demonetised for ‘harmful content’ and had several posts flagged as disinformation. The excerpt is by commentator Alexandre Garcia, the same journalist who spread lies about the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul and the Yanomami crisis.
FOLLOWERS
2.8 million on Youtube and 1.6 million on Twitter
PUBLICATION
14 February, on the programme “Oeste Sem Filtro” (“Oeste Unfiltered”)
VIEWS
525 thousand
💡 There was a global summit in Brazil
Last March, we hosted the Climate Information Integrity Summit, a global event organized by FALA, Climate Action Against Disinformation, and Conscious Advertising Network that brought together governments, embassies, civil society, businesses, the UN, UNESCO, communicators, leaders, and scientists in Brazil — and there was this beautiful launch video. More than 120 people joined in person, with several dozen more attending virtually. Four important outcomes emerged from the event:
Climate information integrity will be a priority at COP30
The European Union announced that it is advancing procedures to formalise its commitment to the Global Initiative and to contribute financially
A global community came together, ready to seek solutions
The pre-launch of Oii
Lies turn people, movements, public policies, organisations, and even governments into targets. That’s why Oii will also serve as a bridge to the stories you need to hear — like that of Cristiana Losekann, a scientist in Brazil who has been threatened and harassed for doing her work.
I'm Still Here*
‘Climate denial in Brazil is pushed most explicitly by far-right figures, a small group of anti-environmentalist activists and ultra-conservative leaders (such as Ricardo Felício, Evaristo Miranda, Bertrand de Orleans e Bragança, Alain Santos, among others)...’
These are the words of Carlos Milani, Full Professor at the Institute of Social and Political Studies of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IESP-UERJ). He and his colleagues are completing a study about it — once it’s ready, you’ll see it here.
*Yes, like the Brazilian film that just won the country’s first Oscar — thanks for reading all the way through.
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