Pinterest has announced to have become the only major digital platform to have clearly defined guidelines against false or misleading climate change information, including conspiracy theories, across content and ads.
According to the platform, Pinterest searches for a greener life are rising, with users seeking ideas to incorporate sustainability into their 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.
Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s Head of Policy, commented on the announcement: “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.”
As part of its Community guidelines on misinformation and disinformation, Pinterest’s 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 the platform’s Community guidelines. Additionally, the company has updated its Advertising guidelines to explicitly prohibit any ads containing conspiracy theories, misinformation and disinformation related to climate change.
More information about this announcement is available on the Pinterest website.
