| | | | |  | | By Arianna Skibell | | Presented by |  | | | |  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | The real-world consequences of climate misinformation are multifold — and they’re about to get worse. That is the dark prediction experts are making following Meta’s announcement that the tech giant will no longer use fact-checkers to moderate content on its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram, writes Scott Waldman. More than half of American adults say they at least sometimes get their news from social media, with Facebook and YouTube outpacing all other sites, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. That percentage has increased over the last few years. Facebook has a long history of struggling to stem the flow of blatantly false information among its 3 billion users. But the complete dismantlement of its fact-checking apparatus could usher in a future where political beliefs supplant whatever shared reality the U.S. has left, said Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University. “The trend is towards living in a world where there basically are no facts. This is just sort of another step down the road,” Dessler told Scott. The consequences of climate misinformation can be swift and damaging. Take, for instance, the recent swirl of falsehoods surrounding Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which dissuaded survivors from seeking help and physically endangered aid workers. But it’s not just the short-term effects. Bursts of false information tied to extreme weather events — which tend to spread rapidly — can significantly hinder long-term climate action by eroding public trust and support, according to a recent review of existing research. The move to fire Facebook fact-checkers and instead rely on the site’s users to correct climate denialism came after Meta donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration — and did not go unnoticed by the president-elect. Trump, who called Meta’s announcement “impressive,” said during a Tuesday news conference that Zuckerberg was “probably” rethinking things after Trump threatened to imprison him for allegedly blocking conservative content on Facebook. Meta is also battling an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission, originally filed during Trump’s first term, focused on its acquisitions of both Instagram and WhatsApp. Linda Khan, the FTC chair, said in an interview with CNBC this week that she hopes the second Trump administration doesn’t cut the company a “sweetheart deal.” For his part, Zuckerberg said in a video message that “fact-checkers have just been too politically biased, and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created, especially in the U.S.” The Meta CEO is now vowing to partner with Trump to combat what he described as censorship around the globe.
| | | It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
| | A message from Edison Electric Institute: Electricity demand is growing at the fastest pace in decades. America’s investor-owned electric companies are positioned to meet this demand, safely and reliably, and to deliver the energy that powers our economy and our daily lives. Working with the new Administration, Congress, and policymakers across the country, we are focused on advancing policies that ensure America is home to the industries, technologies, and jobs of tomorrow, while giving Americans access to opportunities never before possible. | | | | | | Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Ben Lefebvre breaks down why Trump will struggle to fulfill his promise to massively increase the country's oil production.
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A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday. | Ethan Swope/AP | | Trump took to social media today to blame massive wildfires in the Los Angeles area — sparked by dry winds, warm temperatures and eight months of near total drought — on efforts to save a tiny endangered fish, write Jennifer Yachnin and Ariel Wittenberg. In comments posted to Truth Social, Trump criticized Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over state and federal efforts to bolster water flows for “an essentially worthless fish called a smelt.” Newsom's office dismissed Trump's accusations as "pure fiction." Some in-state Republicans, along with Elon Musk, also seized on the fires to hit water and forest management in California, writes Camille von Kaenel. The catastrophic wildfires have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. In a press conference Tuesday, Newsom quickly took the offensive against Trump, who has previously threatened to withhold disaster aid to California over its political leanings. “My message to the incoming administration — and I’m not here to play any politics — is please don’t play any politics,” Newsom said. “There’s a time and place for that. ... The precious moments we have to evacuate, we don’t have any time for that mishegoss.” Wildfires are becoming increasingly common as climate change fuels drier conditions. California has enacted a host of climate rules to mitigate global warming and reduce emissions. Two of its most aggressive climate rules for trucks and trains are awaiting approval from the Biden administration, which has fewer than two weeks to greenlight them before Trump takes office, write Blanca Begert and Alex Nieves. The pair of rules could save more than $58 billion in health benefits like reduced heart attacks and asthma complications, according to a February report from the American Lung Association.
| | | |  The Freeport liquefied natural gas facility in Texas. | Freeport LNG via Business Wire | Trump’s LNG plans rely on 1970s safety rules
U.S. natural gas exports are poised to surge as Trump retakes power, putting a renewed spotlight on safety standards drafted during the Carter administration, writes Mike Soraghan. Back then, disco was king, incoming Vice President JD Vance had yet to be born and the liquefied natural gas business barely resembled the industry now leading the world in exporting gas. NATO sends a fleet to guard Baltic Sea
Following several disruptions in the Baltic Sea in recent months, NATO will send around 10 ships to guard important underwater energy infrastructure by week's end, writes Ketrin Jochecová. The ships will remain at sea until April and be positioned near energy and data cables to deter any sabotage attempts. The move comes after officials discovered broken power and telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia during Christmas.
| | Coal was on its way out. But surging electricity demand is keeping it alive — costing customers and the planet. Clean power problems: Oklahoma is a clean energy powerhouse, but activists are trying to secure a ban on the state's solar and wind projects.
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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Getty Images | Not a single oil company bid on a lease to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, rendering a decadeslong debate over fossil fuel extraction in the vast wildlife refuge apparently moot. The Biden administration is flush with cash to help California as deadly fires spread near Los Angeles, thanks to the $100 billion in disaster aid Congress cleared before Christmas. The administration has finalized tax rules to drive massive emissions reductions and spur growth in low-carbon technologies including wind and nuclear power. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
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