Introducing Maldito Clima: A project to place climate crisis at the forefront of public debate, address its global consequences, and fight disinformation

Maldito Clima aims to transform climate issues into more than a scientific topic, debunking false content and, with the help of expert sources and scientific evidence, explain how the climate crisis is already a reality affecting health, the economy, energy, urban planning, agriculture, and migration.

The climate crisis concerns citizens. According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, which surveyed more than 36,000 people in 28 countries (including Spain), 75% said they were worried about this phenomenon, a percentage only surpassed by job loss concerns and representing a three percentage point increase compared to the 2021 barometer.

The barometer also shows that respondents felt that neither companies (69%), NGOs (65%), governments (68%), nor the media (66%) are doing well regarding climate change solutions. In fact, they believe they are doing worse than with the pandemic.

The latest IPCC report (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), published just a few days ago, emphasized that, in the period 2010-2019, the average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at the highest levels in human history. According to the report, if we do not achieve significant emissions reductions immediately in all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C will be out of our reach.

The chatbot to fight climate disinformation

Within Maldita.es, an independent media outlet that has been fighting all types of disinformation with journalistic tools since 2017, Maldito Clima will combat environmental-related disinformation that the community sends through our chatbot (+34644229319). 

This service was awarded at the European Press Prize 202 in the Innovation category for its innovative approach to combating the problem of disinformation in private messaging channels.

Maldito Clima will use this tool to locate and debunk the disinformation that circulates most among citizens and will also publish more explanatory and in-depth pieces that will be included in categories such as climate crisis, extreme phenomena, biodiversity, health, energy, economy and social impact, governments and companies, consumption models, myths and disinformation, consultancy, and queries.

The community asks: consultancy and glossary

Maldito Clima will follow the same methodology of independence and rigor as Maldita.es, which is a member of the International Fact-Checking Network. It will also feature a monthly consultancy, one of the most popular services from other Maldita.es projects, where the community plays a starring role by sending their climate and environmental queries via Twitter (@maldita_ciencia), email or the WhatsApp chatbot .

Maldito Clima will also have a glossary of terms to explain complex concepts in a simple way that matters to citizens and that is necessary for them to know to make the best decisions. Like all Maldita.es content, Maldito Clima articles will have a Creative Commons BY-SA license . 

For its launch, Maldito Clima has the financial support of the European Climate Foundation .

The international verification network of Maldita.es

Like the rest of the projects, Maldito Clima will be part of the entire international network of projects and collaborations established by Maldita.es. Among them, EU-funded research projects such as EU-Hybnet or Iberifier stand out, in which the organization works with universities and fact-checkers to develop tools and study the phenomenon of disinformation.

Currently, Maldita.es leads the EFCN consortium that will create the European Code of Professional Integrity for Independent Data Verification Organizations and is part of the group preparing the new European Code of Practice on Disinformation.