Twitter announces ban on climate change denial ads

Twitter has announced that misleading advertisements on the platform that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change are prohibited, aligned with their inappropriate content policy.

The climate crisis has been in its worst phase for quite a few years, and a recent report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests a downward spiral for planet Earth. Acknowledging the climate emergency and Twitter's status quo to serve public conversations such as this global concern, misrepresentative ads that propose climate denialism will not be monetized on Twitter.

Advertisements on Twitter that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change will be prohibited. Twitter believes these ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis and mentions their approach is informed by authoritative sources, like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports.

Twitter has previously rolled out a dedicated topic for users to find personalized conversations about the climate emergency, along with hubs of credible, authoritative information across a range of themes, like the science backing climate change, made available in the Explore tab, Search, and Trends. The platform also shares that in the coming months it would be sharing further development to add reliable, authoritative context to the climate conversations happening on Twitter.

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The company has shared more information on its own efforts to achieve sustainability, and the conversations served on the platform:

Sustainability Efforts

• With the help of their partners at Watershed, Twitter will be utilizing zero-carbon electricity for all of the data centers, and for surrounding offices in the US and Canada. The Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are sourced from solar and wind power projects in the same geographic region in which energy was used, and cover 100% of Scope 2 emissions from these sites
• The company also joined the EU climate pact earlier this year, committing to North Star and Pathway pledges, in line with the Paris Agreement goal
• In 2021, it joined the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi), and is pursuing those targets
• Since 2020, Twitter has advanced the CDP score to a B grade for comprehensive reporting on Twitter’s sustainability efforts

Climate Community

Through #AdsForGood grants, on-service support, training, and more, Twitter is partnering with organizations committed to environmental conservation and sustainability. These include Earth Day Network, United Nations (UN) Environment Programme, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Development Programme, Greenpeace, Voice for the Planet, Let Me Breathe, WWF, 350.org, FridaysForFuture, We Don’t Have Time, Climate Reality Project, and others.

Public Conversations

Since 2021, the conversation about sustainability has grown by more than 150%. Twitter has observed a 60%+ increase in terms like “restoring” and “rebalancing.” Discussion around waste reduction has increased by over 100%, and decarbonization by more than 50%.