CARDS: Using AI to Manipulate the Global Conversation on Climate Change
13 hours ago Eric Worrall 38 Comments
Essay by Eric Worrall
“… However, there are still numerous hurdles to overcome before the goal of automated debunking is achieved …”
Hierarchical machine learning models can identify stimuli of climate change misinformation on social media
Cristian Rojas,
Frank Algra-Maschio,
Mark Andrejevic,
Travis Coan,
John Cook &
Yuan-Fang Li
Communications Earth & Environment volume 5, Article number: 436 (2024) Cite this article
Abstract
Misinformation about climate change poses a substantial threat to societal well-being, prompting the urgent need for effective mitigation strategies. However, the rapid proliferation of online misinformation on social media platforms outpaces the ability of fact-checkers to debunk false claims. Automated detection of climate change misinformation offers a promising solution. In this study, we address this gap by developing a two-step hierarchical model. The Augmented Computer Assisted Recognition of Denial and Skepticism (CARDS) model is specifically designed for categorising climate claims on Twitter. Furthermore, we apply the Augmented CARDS model to five million climate-themed tweets over a six-month period in 2022. We find that over half of contrarian climate claims on Twitter involve attacks on climate actors. Spikes in climate contrarianism coincide with one of four stimuli: political events, natural events, contrarian influencers, or convinced influencers. Implications for automated responses to climate misinformation are discussed.
Read more:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01573-7https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/08/18/cards-using-ai-to-manipulate-the-global-conversation-on-climate-change/
