A group of Senators has been tasked with investigating how climate disinformation is “financed, produced and disseminated” online.
It will also formally investigate the practice of ‘astroturfing’, where companies or groups create accounts posing as real people to comment on other accounts.
The Greens-led inquiry, backed by the Labor Government, will consider the use of “bots and trolls” to spread mis- and disinformation.
A final report is due in February 2026.
Inquiry
Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson proposed the inquiry.
“For decades, vested interests have been waging a global war of disinformation against the clean energy transition,” he said in a statement.
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Whish-Wilson cited a Senate inquiry into offshore wind handed down earlier this year, which mentioned the online spread of a fake article linking whale deaths to wind farms.
He said it had shown “fake community groups... were being used in Australia to spread lies about renewable energy”.
Climate disinformation
The climate disinformation inquiry will be led by the Greens, and include members of Labor, the Coalition, and one other cross-bencher (independent or minor party Senator).
It will look into the practice of “astroturfing“, where groups use fake accounts to target certain causes or organisations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned of “coordinated disinformation campaigns impeding global progress on climate change”.
