The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Combating Climate Change Misinformation Across Digital Media Platforms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-v.300Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Misinformation, Digital Media, Fact-Checking, Machine Learning, Social Media PlatformsAbstract
Climate-change misinformation on digital media platforms is harming the public understanding of environmental risk and slowing collective action to tackle climate change. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are becoming a potential frontline of defence against such misinformation. This study explores the perceived impact of AI-assisted solutions such as automated fact-checking, natural language processing (NLP) content moderation, deepfake detection, algorithmic recommender re-ranking, and chatbot inoculation on decreasing exposure to and trust in climate misinformation on major social media platforms. A cross-sectional survey using a quantitative method was used. A structured questionnaire was administered on 300 active digital media users who were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data in SPSS v29. The mean effectiveness was highest (M = 4.32, SD = 0.71) for automated fact-checking, on a five-point Likert scale. Exposure to AI interventions significantly reduced weekly exposure to climate misinformation by an average of 44.6 % (t = 12.87, p < .001). Among the respondents, 68% trusted the AI-verified climate content to a moderate to high degree. Though there are challenges to broad-scale adoption, such as algorithmic transparency and cultural adaptability, AI-based interventions have the potential to greatly diminish exposure to climate misinformation and improve public trust in reliable information.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Sheikh Fakhar e Alam, Aysal Elham, Madiha Qamar, Akash Ali
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