The climate change-denying TikTok post that won't go away

Earlier this year, TikTok vowed to clamp down connected clime alteration denial. But a BBC probe tracked 1 video that has been viewed millions of times - and recovered the institution is struggling to halt mendacious clime accusation from spreading crossed the platform.

If you searched for "climate change" connected TikTok successful caller months, you mightiness person travel crossed a video featuring Dan Peña, a self-styled "business occurrence coach" with thousands of followers connected societal media.

The video, changeable during the 2017 London premiere of a documentary movie astir Mr Peña, shows a heated speech betwixt the American businessman and a subordinate of the audience.

Asked what "the radical with the money" volition bash astir clime change, helium replies: "The fiscal institutions and the banks cognize [climate change] is not going to happen."

He adds, without providing immoderate credible evidence: "It's the top fraud that has been perpetrated connected mankind this century."

Contacted by the BBC, Mr Peña stood by these comments, saying clime alteration was really a "historical norm" implicit thousands of years and "not new". He questioned whether it was a "genuine threat" arsenic good arsenic the effectiveness of measures projected by clime alteration activists successful the look of increasing emissions from China.

The overwhelming value of technological grounds has recovered that satellite temperatures are rising due to the fact that of quality activity, starring to accelerated clime alteration and threatening each facet of quality life.

But portion Mr Peña's statements struggle with that technological evidence, this clip appears to person been edited and re-uploaded by different users from antithetic TikTok accounts dozens of times, racking up much than 9 cardinal views successful the process.

Under new assemblage guidelines unveiled by TikTok past April, contented that "undermines well-established technological consensus" connected clime alteration volition not beryllium allowed connected the platform.

And yet, the clip depicting Mr Peña is acold from an isolated occurrence: the BBC identified 365 antithetic videos successful English denying the beingness of man-made clime change.

TikTok itself deems clime alteration denial to beryllium "harmful misinformation". Using tools disposable to immoderate TikTok user, we reported those videos to the level nether that category. We past waited for astatine slightest a time to find retired whether they would beryllium taken down.

The institution did not region astir 95% of the posts we flagged up - videos that, having been watched astir 30 cardinal times, appeared to beryllium attracting important attention.

In a connection to the BBC, TikTok said it is moving "to empower informed clime discussions", and that it is moving with fact-checkers to tackle misinformation.

The institution besides pointed retired that, erstwhile users hunt for videos astir clime change, they are being shown a nexus to a United Nations website connected the topic.

But the video of Mr Peña demonstrates however "bad arguments tin dispersed truly accelerated connected TikTok", says Roshan Salgado D'Arcy, a subject communicator who uses societal media to debunk viral videos that incorporate mendacious claims astir clime change.

"There are nary existent checks and balances to marque definite that the accusation is accurate."

The occupation is not exclusive to English-speaking TikTok either: BBC Monitoring recovered dozens of different clime change-denying videos successful Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian.

"As a subordinate of the nationalist connected societal media, it indispensable beryllium precise casual to get the incorrect thought astir however definite we are astir clime change," says Dr Doug McNeall, a idiosyncratic from the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research.

"Misinformation tin truly harm our treatment astir what to bash astir clime change."

TikTok is alert of the occupation - which is why, to people Earth period successful April, it announced it would statesman actively removing contented that contradicts basal clime science.

In a blog post published astatine the time, it listed arsenic examples of rule-breaking contented posts "denying the beingness of clime alteration oregon the factors that lend to it".

But the scope of videos similar those featuring Mr Peña raises questions astir however successfully this caller argumentation is being enforced.

"Rules go irrelevant, if they're not applied consistently, accurately and fairly," says Jennie King, caput of clime probe and argumentation astatine the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK counter-extremism deliberation tank.

Ms King said this emboldens radical to effort "to crippled the strategy adjacent more, due to the fact that they cognize they tin yet enactment with impunity".

Paul Scully MP, the curate for exertion and the integer economy, told the BBC that the government's projected Online Safety Bill would warrant that the work of societal media platforms to tackle disinformation was "taken seriously".

After we shared the findings of our probe with TikTok, 65 accounts that had been posting incorrect accusation astir clime alteration successful breach of the platform's guidelines were permanently removed.

The institution besides removed astir of the remaining videos that were inactive online - including respective that featured Dan Peña's 2017 talk.

However, astatine the clip of writing, respective copies of the clip featuring Dan Peña describing clime alteration arsenic the "greatest fraud" tin inactive beryllium recovered connected the app.

At the Met Office, Dr McNeall welcomes TikTok's efforts against misinformation, but helium questions whether this is simply a conflict the institution tin win.

"As a idiosyncratic I'm blessed to beryllium challenged," helium says.

"Maybe we should absorption connected promoting bully clime subject information, alternatively than conscionable removing the contented that we possibly don't like."