Scientists, faced with an avalanche of insults and threats on Twitter, are leaving the social network, where climate denial has multiplied since Elon Musk bought the platform.
Peter Gleick, an expert on climate and water with almost 100,000 followers on Twitter, announced on May 21 that he would no longer post messages on the famous network, accusing him of racism and sexism.
The investigator says he is used to “aggressive, personal and ‘ad hominem’ attacks up to and including direct physical threats”. But in recent months, he told AFP, “the number and intensity of attacks has skyrocketed since the arrival of new ownership and the changes at Twitter.”
Since taking over Twitter six months ago, tycoon Elon Musk has relaxed moderation of problematic content and allowed previously banned individuals like Donald Trump to return.
Robert Rohde of the Berkeley Earth Association also analyzed the activity of hundreds of climate scientist accounts before and after Twitter’s change of ownership.
In his opinion, these tweets did not have the same reach: the average number of “likes” (as a sign of approval) fell by 38% and 40% fewer retweets.
– disinformation –
Twitter hasn’t directly commented on the changes it’s made to its algorithms that boost network traffic and visibility. The company’s press service was contacted via email and responded with an automated message that included an emoji in the shape of “poop.”
Musk explained one reason that might explain the changes in a January tweet: “People on the right should look at more ‘left’ stuff, and people on the left should look at more ‘right’ stuff.” But You can block it if you want to stay in an echo chamber.”
In another analysis, renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe examined reactions to the same tweet, which she intentionally posted twice, before and after the Twitter takeover.
Responses from trolls, or bots — automated accounts that often spread misinformation — have increased 15-30 times compared to previous years, the scientist said.
Since buying Twitter in October, “My account has seen steady growth with at least several thousand new followers every month. Nothing has changed since then,” he told AFP.
– “Professional Trolls”-
Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, decided to move most of his weather communications to another platform called Substack.
“Climate communication on Twitter is less useful (now) because I see my tweets generate less engagement,” he says.
“For almost every tweet about climate change, I’m inundated with replies from verified accounts with misleading or misinformed claims,” he says.
Other experts simply chose to leave Twitter. Katharine Hayhoe estimates that of the 3,000 climate researchers she registered, 100 disappeared after buying the Bluebird company.
Glaciologist Ruth Mottram had more than 10,000 followers on Twitter, but in February she decided to join a scientist forum on Mastodon, a decentralized social network founded in 2016.
In her opinion, the environment is “much calmer”. “I haven’t seen any insults or people questioning climate change,” he told AFP.
Michael Mann, a renowned climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania who has also been a victim of online attacks, believes the rise in misinformation is being “organized and orchestrated” by opponents of climate policy.
“Professional trolls manipulate the online environment through strategic posts that create conflict and division,” he told AFP.