Fake news on everything from whales to wind farms: Australia is flooded with climate misinformation

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Mar 25, 2026 · 998 words · By Christian Downie

Climate Change Policy Media and Technology

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What to know about Climate Change Policy

The article discusses findings from an Australian Senate inquiry into misinformation and disinformation related to climate change and energy, highlighting the role of AI and social media in spreading false information. It outlines challenges to democracy and recommends measures to combat misinformation.

Propaganda risk 20%

Claims checked 27

Techniques found 1

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left20%

Center60%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Australia is facing a wave of misinformation and disinformation on climate change and energy.

Why it matters

This is being fuelled by the growth in artificial intelligence and allowed to spread freely on social media, according to the findings of a Senate inquiry.

Common ground

This misinformation presents a threat to action on climate change, but also challenges the health of Australia’s democracy, the committee found.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Climate Change Policy story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that In Australia, our knowledge of who is funding disinformation is hampered by a lack of transparency?
How does this story connect Climate Change Policy with Media and Technology over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/fake-news-on-everything-from-whales-to-wind-farms-au…

analyticsAnalysis

20%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Appeal to Fear 85% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 27 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 17

help Insufficient Evidence 5

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

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Claim 1: “In Australia, our knowledge of who is funding disinformation is hampered by a lack of transparency.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “Rainforest Reserves Australia acknowledged its 1,500-word response to media inquiries was generated using AI.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “The Senate committee recommended greater transparency in political donations and lobbying, strengthened media literacy, and independent monitoring programs to track misinformation.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 4: “Misinformation presents a threat to action on climate change, but also challenges the health of Australia’s democracy, the committee found.”

CORROBORATED

Two web search results directly cite the Senate inquiry's findings about misinformation threatening climate action and democracy. Third source confirms the inquiry's existence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — During theinquiry, the committee heard evidence about the role that so-called "dark money" plays in the promulgation ofclimateandenergy relatedmisinformationanddisinformationinAustralia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-29/senate-report-misinfo…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 1.1The Select Committee on Information Integrity onClimateChange and Energy (the committee) was appointed by resolution of theSenateon 30 July 2025, to inquire into and report on: (a)the prevalence of…
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Sen…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Thismisinformationpresents a threat toactiononclimatechange, but also challenges the health ofAustralia'sdemocracy, the committeefound.
https://theconversation.com/fake-news-on-everything-from-wha…

schedule

Claim 5: “Research from more than 100 scholars around the world has uncovered a network of organisations that exist to influence the public, media and political arenas to slow, stop or reverse effective climate action.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 6: “Australia is facing a wave of misinformation and disinformation on climate change and energy.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results for claim 0 reference climate events and energy policies but do not explicitly mention misinformation or disinformation about climate change/energy. No direct corroboration found.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Inits relatively short historyasanation-state,Australiahas suffered through several heat wavesandfire seasons far deadlier than the current ...
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/australia-bushf…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Solar AccreditationAustralia(SAA)isnow responsible for ensuring installersanddesigners have undertaken appropriate trainingandmeet standards.
https://cleanenergycouncil.org.au/news-resources

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — ...iscertainly true that 2019 was the driest yearinAustraliasince 1900, likely caused by extended La Nina conditionsinthe Pacific, they can ’ ...
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/01/10/friday-funny-dont-get…

schedule

Claim 7: “Rainforest Reserves Australia (RRA), a conservative campaign group opposing renewable energy, had included information about wind farms that do not exist. It also cited academic articles that do not exist.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “Senators called for powers to compel social media companies to remove fake content and bots used in coordinated campaigns to obstruct climate action.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 9: “Misinformation is the spread of false information, regardless of whether there is an intent to harm or mislead.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia to define misinformation as false information regardless of intent.

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Claim 10: “My own research has shown industry lobby groups historically opposed to climate policies in the US spent US$3.4 billion (A$4.88 billion) on political activities, especially public relations, between 2008 and 2018.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “Survivors of the 2019 Black Summer bushfires submitted evidence describing how misinformation had created rifts in local NSW communities and driven family members apart.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 12: “The committee’s report makes it clear that social media and AI are fuelling misinformation.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 13: “If misinformation starts to warp or sever this link, our democratic societies can unravel.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia to support the claim about misinformation threatening democratic societies.

verified

Claim 14: “Why does misinformation matter? First, it’s important to understand why misinformation matters, and why about 74% of Australians are concerned about it.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries about Australian demographics do not mention public concern about misinformation. No direct evidence for 74% statistic.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Australians

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultura…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australians

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indigenous Australians are the various Aboriginal Australian peoples of Australia, and the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peop…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians

help

Claim 15: “The inquiry uncovered countless instances where misinformation – and often disinformation – was affecting public opinion on everything, from wind farms and whales to electric vehicles and batteries.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia to confirm the Senate inquiry's findings about misinformation affecting public opinion on specific topics.

schedule

Claim 16: “A number of participants to the Senate inquiry refused to reveal who was funding their operations.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “The federal government should act on the Senate inquiry's recommendations before the next election to address the threat to democracy.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 18: “AI was even used to generate fake content in some of the submissions to the inquiry.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia to support the claim about AI-generated fake content in Senate submissions.

schedule

Claim 19: “AI enables the creation of fake social media posts, pictures, and videos.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 20: “One of the motivations for the Senate inquiry was evidence that emerged in 2025 highlighting how anti-offshore wind campaigns had spread misinformation. They claimed turbines killed whales and would block out the sunrise – neither of which is true.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries about patrol vessels and offshoring do not mention 2025 anti-offshore wind misinformation claims. No direct corroboration found.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Arafura class is a class of offshore patrol vessels being built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Initially proposed in the 2009 Defence White Paper and marked as procurement project SEA 1180, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arafura-class_patrol_vessel

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Usually this refers…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshoring

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Shachi-class offshore patrol vessels are large patrol crafts being built at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) for the Indian Navy. The deal was signed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shachi-class_patrol_vessel_(20…

info

Claim 21: “This is being fuelled by the growth in artificial intelligence and allowed to spread freely on social media, according to the findings of a Senate inquiry.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Web search results discuss AI and social media's role in misinformation but do not specifically link to Australia's Senate inquiry. No direct corroboration found.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Disinformationis an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions andmediamanipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinformation

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web search NEUTRAL — Today,misinformationspreadsvery easily thanks to technology. Onsocialmedia, users have—as just one tiny instance—shared stories about dolphins and swans swimming in the canals of Venice without checki…
https://www.dictionary.com/articles/misinformation-vs-disinf…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Gavin Newsom (D) signed threeartificialintelligencebills into law on Tuesday in an attempt to requiresocialmediacompanies to moderatethespreadofdisinfo and deepfakes — deceptive images, videos or audi…
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/newsom-takes-significant-…

schedule

Claim 22: “Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, conceded it spends more on lobbying than fact-checking in Australia.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 23: “Senators recommended banning fossil fuel industry donations and legislating truth in political advertising.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 24: “Australians for Natural Gas, which appears to be a grassroots organisation that supports pro-gas policies, was in fact set up by the chief executive of gas company Tamboran Resources, with help from PR firm Freshwater Strategy, according to an investigation by the ABC.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 25: “But when an individual or organisation spreads misinformation with the intent to influence public opinion, this is known as disinformation.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia to define disinformation as intentional false information to influence public opinion.

schedule

Claim 26: “Misinformation about batteries is rife too. For example, testimony from a NSW farmer told how a 500 kilowatt-hour community battery in Narrabri, initially supported by the local council, was later blocked following a campaign driven by misinformation on Facebook.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 27: “Senators heard how the algorithms on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok often prioritised engagement over accuracy, 'creating echo chambers that reinforce existing beliefs and can amplify misleading content'.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.