Against Astroturfing and Social Media Manipulation

Threat level: NATO has also found that its adversaries, chiefly Russia, are spreading climate and energy-transition-related disinformation in order to undermine political will for climate action.

• It cites an uptick in Russian disinformation tied to the European green energy transition on social media and on online news sites. Russia, a major producer of oil and gas, has an interest in slowing the transition to renewable energy sources.
• Disaster-related disinformation is another emerging trend, which seeks to impair NATO members' ability to respond effectively. This was observed, for example, in association with the deadly fire in Lahaina, Maui, in August of last year, the report states.
• Russia, for example, sought to benefit from that by spreading the narrative that the U.S. should be aiding its own citizens in Hawai'i instead of Ukraine, the report notes.

What they're saying: "Russia and other NATO adversaries use climate disinformation to sow division, delay action, and cynically undermine the public understanding of climate change in ways that put people in harm's way during climate-exacerbated disasters," Kate Cell, a senior climate campaign manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Axios.