In this article:
- Pinterest outlined new community guidelines related to climate change.
- The social media company will prohibit content that aims to mislead people about climate change.
- Brands are starting to address how they contribute to climate change and perpetuate misinformation.
Pinterest is putting a pin in climate action.
The social media network, which is popular for finding creative ideas for home decor, hair styles, fashion, do-it-yourself projects, and more, has decided to ban climate misinformation on the platform. The content that Pinterest will no longer permit includes creator posts and advertisements. As part of the decision, Pinterest revamped its community guidelines on misinformation and disinformation.
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In a blog post on Pinterest’s online newsroom, Pinterest’s Head of Policy Sarah Bromma said “Pinterest believes in cultivating a space that’s trusted and truthful for those using our platform.” Among the new policies, Pinterest prohibits:
- Content denying climate change and its effects, the human contribution to climate change, or the scientific proof of climate change
- False or misleading climate change solutions information that is contradictory to what the scientific community has said
- Omission or cherry-picking of scientific data in an attempt to erode trust in climate science and experts
- Content that misleads people about public safety emergencies such as natural disasters and extreme weather events
Pinterest cited increasing interest in climate action and sustainability as one of the reasons for adopting new content policies. “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,” according to Pinterest.
To develop its new climate content guidelines, Pinterest reportedly worked with the Climate Disinformation Coalition and the Conscious Advertising Network. Increasingly, brands are facing pressure to make changes with the climate in mind. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has even proposed a new rule that would require companies to disclose how their operations affect the climate, and how much they produce in carbon emissions. The SEC is also asking for more climate information from companies like Alphabet, Amazon, eBay, Salesforce, Meta, and others.
Companies could be moving further from work that intensifies climate change. Google no longer supports ads that include climate misinformation and some platforms are not accepting ads from fossil fuel companies. But Pinterest could be the first online company to introduce such comprehensive climate change policies for its content.