In late September, Christian Downie, a professor of political science at Australian National University, testified before an Australian Senate inquiry on climate misinformation, as he shared in The Conversation.

"In the climate domain, researchers typically use the word 'misinformation' to refer to any falsehoods about climate change," Downie wrote. "They can be spread innocuously or through a deliberate campaign."

He gave several examples, including campaigns that have taken place in America, such as when Energy Citizens ran an ad campaign across multiple platforms titled "I'm an energy voter" that was designed to look like ordinary, everyday people — but was actually made up of paid actors. This tactic is called "astroturfing." Campaigns like this are worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

The bill is paid by major oil, gas, and coal companies — businesses that have a financial interest in suppressing pro-climate legislation, because it would limit their polluting activities. Dirty energy companies make money from pollution, and the move to cleaner energy options threatens their business model.

However, if they can misinform the public and politicians about what is at stake, they can push for policies that are bad for the planet and humanity, but good for their bank accounts. That's where the public relations campaigns come in.

"As a co-editor on a forthcoming book on climate obstruction, I can say that large PR firms have too often put their commercial interests, and the interests of fossil fuel giants, ahead of those of the public," wrote Downie. "My colleagues and I made this clear in our submission to the inquiry."

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For example, misinformation that can affect policy includes the idea that offshore wind farms kill whales, electric cars catch fire more often than gas ones, and "natural gas" is a clean energy source. None of these ideas are true, but they have all been widely spread enough to affect how many people vote on policy issues involving these energy technologies.

The best way to avoid misinformation is to follow reliable sources to stay informed on climate issues — and with this recent testimony to the Australian Senate, that's what these politicians are trying to do.

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