Ahh, the satisfaction of witnessing a journalist fact-check a particularly pernicious and misleading claim.
The problem? By the time the fact-check happens, the damage is done.
Researchers have found that misinformation is surprisingly sticky. Even after false claims are corrected, they continue to shape how people think about an issue.
So what if the best way to fight misinformation isn’t to correct it after it’s spread? But to help people recognize it before they encounter it?
That’s the idea behind “prebunking,” and it’s at the heart of GCEF’s latest initiative, Inoculating Against Misinformation in Climate Politics in Canada.
Prebunking strategies help people understand how misinformation works. They’re built on inoculation theory, developed in the 1960s by psychologist William McGuire for use as a “vaccine for brainwash.” Just as an inoculation prepares the body to resist infection, psychological inoculation prepares the mind to resist attempts to mislead it.
Laura Kenyon, Project Lead and Co-Head of Programs at Greenpeace Canada, explains, “It’s more important than ever to expose the disinformation that aims to confuse people and slow down our transition off harmful and expensive fossil fuels. Yet here in Canada, the narrative being pushed… is that fossil fuels will bring security and stability, and that they are the obvious, smart choice.”
How is GCEF prebunking climate misinformation?
Our inoculation team monitors online sources for emerging misinformation. When they find it, they create engaging online content to warn people it’s coming. By encountering a “weakened dose” of the misinformation ahead of time, people are better able to identify and resist it later.
So far, the results are encouraging. Posts that expose and analyze misinformation are reaching more non-followers than traditional campaign posts. They’re also inspiring new audiences to follow Greenpeace accounts and connect with our message.
By helping people recognize manipulation, we can build a more informed public conversation, rooted in facts, critical thinking, and a shared commitment to creating a safer, more sustainable future.
As Laura says, “Exposing the coordinated campaigns behind this kind of misinformation and providing the public with tools to identify and resist it will be critical to navigating this moment, where the case for transitioning away from fossil fuels has never been stronger.”
