Pinterest’s new policy removes inaccurate posts on climate change. With the help of climate change experts, the social media network hopes to stop the spread of misinformation.
Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s head of Policy, stated, “Pinterest believes in cultivating a space that’s trusted and truthful for those using our platform.”
People are turning to Pinterest to learn about living greener and more sustainable lives. Pinterest found that “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.”
Climate change is a major problem and many users and advertisers deny its urgency. Some of these climate topics include rising sea levels and global warming. Many companies take health misinformation seriously when it pertains to COVID-19, but not with climate change.
Pinterest’s Newsroom
In 2017, Pinterest created a policy related to COVID-19 and the spread of vaccine misinformation. They wanted to encourage people to get vaccinated by removing misinformation.. The company has now expanded that policy to include climate change misinformation as well.
Companies like Meta have attempted to stop the spread of COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation by fact-checking users posts. Facebook states, “we’ve used this feature to group content about COVID-19, global elections, natural disasters, conflicts and other events.” Facebook does not mention that it has attempted to stop the spread of climate change misinformation using these fact-checkers.
Facebook directs users to Climate Science Center using information labels on posts that relate to climate change. Nick Clegg, the Vice President of Meta’s Global Affairs & Communications states, “We want to play our part by helping people find accurate, science-led information while also tackling misinformation.” Directing users to links on climate change is beneficial, but it doesn’t stop users from spreading misinformation.
Social media companies should create a space where users can educate themselves on important topics like COVID-19 and climate change. Pinterest has taken steps to help users trust them by censoring information that can be harmful to them. Trust between social media companies and their users is crucial and Pinterest is setting a great example for other companies to follow.
