Climate Feedback

Climate Feedback (CF) is a web-based content annotation tool that allows qualified scientists to comment on stories online, adding context and noting inaccuracies.[1][2] It is one of three websites under the Science Feedback parent organization that fact-checks media coverage. Science Feedback is a non-profit organization registered in France.[3]

This article is about the fact-checking website. For feedbacks in the climate systems, see climate change feedback.
Climate Feedback
Type of site
Fact-checking website
OwnerScience Feedback
URLclimatefeedback.org
Current statusActive

The CF website asks climate scientists in relevant fields to assess the credibility and accuracy of media stories related to climate change.[4][5] The website published its first review in 2015.[5] The website was founded by Emmanuel Vincent, who has a PhD in Oceanography & Climate from Université Pierre et Marie Curie.[6] Vincent partnered with the non-profit Hypothes.is, who created a free Internet browser plug-in that allows users to make sentence-level comments on web pages, to create an evaluation of content. Climate Feedback, an application of the Hypothes.is platform to climate science communication, allows active climate scientists to add comments.[7]

Process

Typically, a story will be reviewed for CF by five or six scientists, but on one story there were 17 reviewers.[4] According to Climate Feedback, each reviewer has to hold a PhD in a relevant discipline, and have at least one published article on climate science or climate change impacts in a top-tier peer-reviewed scientific journal within the last three years.[8][9] However, summaries are written by an editor rather than by a reviewer.[10]

The method was called "expert crowdsourcing" or a form of "elevated crowdsourcing" by Poynter's International Fact-Check Network.[11]

History

The website published its first review in March 2015.[5][2] In 2016, Climate Feedback raised about $30,000 with Indigogo crowdfunding, which bolstered one of the efforts to conduct fact-checking via web annotation. Others like PolitiFact have also been experimenting with annotation methods for politicians’ posts on the blogging platform Medium, using a $140,000 grant from the Knight Foundation.[12]

In 2017 Dana Nuccitelli, in a Guardian article on the role of denialist blogs in undermining public acceptance of anthropogenic global warming, described Climate Feedback as "a highly respected and influential resource."[13]

The website has identified errors in content published by outlets, such as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Mail on Sunday and New York magazine.[5][6] The website is included in the database of global fact-checking sites by the Reporters' Lab at Duke University.[14] Currently, Emmanuel Vincent serves as director.[2]

As a project of the Science Feedback non-profit organization, Climate Feedback reviews are used in Facebook's fact-checking partnership to identify false news articles and show them lower in its News Feed.[15][16] Science Feedback is annually certified by the International Fact Checking Network at the Poynter Institute.[17]

In September 2021, journalist John Stossel filed a libel lawsuit against Facebook, along with Climate Feedback and Science Feedback, for labeling two of his videos on climate change "misleading" and "partly false". Stossel's lawsuit said the labels misrepresented his views.[18][19] A judge dismissed Stossel's lawsuit in October 2022, ruling that the labels were First Amendment-protected statements of opinion.[20]

See also

References
  1. "Tools That Fight Disinformation Online". www.rand.org. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  2. "At Climate Feedback, scientists encourage better science reporting. But who is listening?". Columbia Journalism Review. February 1, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  3. Uzunoğlu, Sarphan (June 2019). "Science Feedback, IFCN Code of Principles". ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  4. "At Climate Feedback, scientists encourage better science reporting. But who is listening?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  5. "Why climate change is the easiest news to fake". Axios. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  6. "This fact-checker got several news outlets to correct a false story about a mini-Ice Age". Poynter Institute. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  7. Wanucha, Genevieve (December 2, 2014). "Improving media coverage of climate science". MIT News, Oceans at MIT. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  8. "About us - Climate Feedback". Climate Feedback. 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  9. "Scientists, get onboard!". Climate Feedback. 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  10. "Process – How Climate Feedback works". Climate Feedback. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  11. "Is expert crowdsourcing the solution to health misinformation?". Poynter. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  12. Wilner, Tamar (May 25, 2016). "Annotation might be the future of fact-checking". Poynter. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  13. Nuccitelli, Dana (November 29, 2017). "New study uncovers the 'keystone domino' strategy of climate denial". theguardian.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  14. "Fact-checking triples over four years - Duke Reporters' Lab". Duke Reporters' Lab. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  15. Mahoney, Matt (December 20, 2016). "A reality check on Facebook's fact checks". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  16. "Facebook adds 2 new fact-checking partners". Axios. 2019-04-17.
  17. "Science Feedback – scientists sorting fact from fiction". Open Science. May 15, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  18. Gardner, Eriq (2021-09-23). "John Stossel Sues Facebook for Allegedly Defaming Him With Fact-Check". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  19. Spangler, Todd (2021-09-23). "John Stossel Sues Facebook Alleging Defamation Over Fact-Check Label, Seeks at Least $2 Million". Variety. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  20. Cho, Winston (2022-10-12). "Judge Dismisses John Stossel's Defamation Suit Against Facebook Over Fact-Checking". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
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