Global Hating: Twitter & Facebook Fail To Protect Climate Scientists From Harassment
Daily Kos | Climate Denier Roundup | April 6, 2023
International human rights nonprofit Global Witness released the results of a survey of climate scientists this week in a report called Global Hating, which found that Twitter and Facebook are utterly failing to protect these scientists from harassment.
The report found that 39% of the polled scientists have been targets of online harassment. For scientists who have over 10 publications, the figure jumps to 49%. Even worse, 73% of those appearing in the media at least once a month have been subjected to abuse, creating a pretty clear incentive for scientists to stay in their ivory tower….
Scientists shouldn’t have to wonder if, on top of everything else, social media use means exposure to dangerous people who threaten to literally kill the messenger bearing bad news.
And while groups like the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund can offer some assistance for those experiencing legal harassment, the real responsibility here lies with Facebook and Twitter, the platforms on which most of the abuse happens. Global Witness’ report goes through the reforms and recommendations that are possible, but for the sake of space, we’ll sum it up in one sentence: When a rowdy patron gets too drunk and starts harassing customers, it’s up to establishment security to remove him, not leave it to the guests to figure it out themselves.