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Africa: Climate of Confusion – Bot-Like Accounts Sharing Climate Disinformation and Conspiracies

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Bot-like accounts have spread conspiracy theories about climate cults and a global elite, amplifying disinformation on social media
Bot-like accounts that have actively participated in political discussions around key events are consistently sharing climate disinformation and using it to foment fear, hate and mistrust against proponents of climate action.
Earlier this year, we published an investigation into 45 bot-like accounts on X which have amplified divisive political content since the UK General Election, including “Great Replacement” conspiracy material, and responded to global events with racism, disinformation and conspiracies.
As we explained in that investigation, accounts that exhibited bot-like behaviour on X had been identified based on a methodology which included looking for a series of “red flags”, such as prolific posting, a low volume of original content and indications that the account was set up quickly in order to respond to an event.
This methodology also included a manual search to identify any evidence of authentic human behaviour.
We found that a number of these accounts were amplifying climate denial and disinformation. In the period after the UK general election, 14 of these accounts shared the hashtag #ClimateScam, often in conjunction with other conspiracy hashtags such as #geoengineering.
In August 2024, we decided to do a deeper dive into the climate discussion and climate disinformation shared by these accounts.
We set out our findings from this investigation below, which has not involved a further assessment of the status of the accounts since they were identified as “bot-like” in July 2024.
Explicit climate denial and disinformation amplified by bot-like accounts
Within mentions of “climate change”, the most frequently used hashtag (amongst these accounts) was an explicitly climate denialist hashtag: #climatescam.
Climate conspiracism and denial were also present, including hashtags like #netzeroscam, #climatecult, #climatechangecult and #bladerunners (a hashtag that refers to people who attack cameras installed to enforce low-emissions traffic).
Twenty-two of the 45 accounts we looked at shared content that referenced either a climate cult or climate scam.
As well as denying that climate change is an existential threat, some of these accounts took things a step further by spreading conspiracy theories that the real existential threat is those who support climate action.
Claim 1: Climate action threatens the natural world and human life
Bot-like accounts amplified the idea that climate action is dangerous. This included highlighting or claiming that significant environmental damage and destruction has or will occur through the introduction of solar panels or windfarms.
This was portrayed in some cases as a “sacrifice” demanded by the “cult” of climate action.
Accounts also amplified more extreme claims that the purpose of the climate “cult” is to deliberately reduce people’s quality of life or that “geoengineering” is deliberately designed to make people sick so that we don’t protest at our freedoms being curtailed.
Claim 2: Climate action is a cover-up by elites profiting and governments controlling their populations
Some of the accounts also claimed that policies to tackle the climate emergency are simply a means to obtain money and power, or to increase control over people, including by making the population sick and weak.
Accounts called for resistance to environmental policies. There was discussion of and support for the “blade runners”, who vandalise ULEZ cameras as a form of protest against the alleged surveillance and control they introduce or represent.
Climate discussion is closely tied to political identity
The bot-like accounts we looked at were not explicitly dedicated to discussions of climate.
Accounts mentioned “climate” or “climate change” relatively infrequently (the 45 bot-like accounts mentioned “climate” 3,547 times, including 1,492 mentions of “climate change” out of over 600,000 posts between 22 May and 22 July).
However, all of the accounts mentioned “climate change” at least once during this period, and it was consistently present in the discussion over time.
Posts shared by these accounts often declared political stances on climate in tandem with other positions, such as being against climate action and LGBTQIA+ rights, against vaccination or against involvement in conflicts such as Ukraine.
Conversely, being supportive of climate action, LGBTQIA+ rights, migration, vaccination or Ukraine was seen by some accounts as one political identity – that of “globalists” or “far left fascists”.
But not all of the bot-like accounts were opposed to climate action. Some accounts posted in support of climate or ecological action.
Accounts that mentioned climate terms in their bios generally did so to express support for climate action, naming the climate or environment alongside other traditionally left-wing political views, such as supporting Labour, disliking the Tories or rejoining the EU.
How do the identified bot-like accounts interact with the wider information environment?
The accounts we investigated did not exist in a silo. They frequently shared content that links to external websites or elsewhere on X.
These sites included a news site known to have shared false health and climate information.
A media site known to promote conspiracy theories was the most retweeted account among the posts mentioning climate change.
We also found other users interacting with the bot-like accounts. Sixty-four other accounts, who themselves had more than 300,000 followers collectively, mentioned the bot-like accounts when posting about climate change.
There was also some evidence of connections between one of our bot-like accounts and other profiles that amplified their content, indicating that they may have been set up for the same purpose.
Two accounts retweeted one of the bot-like accounts with whom they appeared to share a name, and one of their profiles linked to an Instagram account whose profile image was the same as the bot-like account we had identified.
Recommendations
Tackling the climate emergency requires spaces for democratic discussion and civic action free from distortion.
As accounts are allowed to exploit political divisions in order to drive extreme conspiratorial narratives about climate action, building genuine consensus on the way forward remains a significant challenge.
Social media platforms (by their very design) can be exploited to drive divisive and harmful content. They must take responsibility for mitigating risks from their platforms to information integrity, as affirmed in the Digital Services Act.
Major social media platforms recognise the dangers from harmful bots and have policies that ban them.
X’s policies state that users may not “artificially amplify […] information or engage in behaviour that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience” and that users that violate this policy may have the visibility of their posts limited and, in severe cases, their accounts suspended.
Unfortunately, these policies are not always adequately enforced. We called on X to investigate whether the list of bot-like accounts that we have provided to them violate their policies and to invest more in protecting our democratic discourse from manipulation.
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On the third attempt to seek their comments on our investigations into bot-like behaviour, X responded saying they “have reviewed the accounts you have shared, and there is no evidence they are engaged in platform manipulation.”
They stated that our “methodology relies on limited data and is incorrectly classifying real people as bots.”
In subsequent discussions with Global Witness, a representative from X reasserted that our methodology was based on limited data and identified humans as bot-like.
However, when we asked how they were able to determine that some of these specific accounts were run by real people, X did not provide this information.
X were also unable to confirm how many of the bot-like accounts we had identified were, in the view of X, real humans.
Given that there is only limited data available to researchers outside of the platform, and that platforms like X and Meta continue to make less and less data publicly available, investigations like ours are forced to rely on methodologies that allow us to raise concerns about accounts without having 100% certainty on their authenticity (as we have made clear).
As a result, we classified these accounts as appearing like bots, or being “bot-like”.
Without legislation in place requiring greater transparency from platforms, researchers and members of the public are left with no option but to choose whether or not to trust what X says.
As noted above, the “bot-like” accounts investigated in this article were identified in July 2024 based on a methodology involving a series of “red flags” and a manual review, which has not been reperformed since our initial investigation.
Ellen Judson, Senior Investigator – Climate Disinformation, Digital Threats
Read the original article on Global Witness.
AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 100 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
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Africa: Martin Luther King Jr's Legacy On Health Equity Through the Eyes of a Black African Doctor

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January 21, 2025

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Washington DC — Every year, January 20 is celebrated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement who fought for equality and justice, especially for Black people, through peaceful protests and powerful speeches. The day is observed annually on the third Monday of January, close to his birthday on January 15. It is a time to remember his work, reflect on his message of fairness and nonviolence, and engage in acts of service to help others in our communities.
As a global health equity advocate, MLK Day holds special significance for me as a day to remember him as a health equity champion. He rightly identified health inequity as the worst form of social injustice. In his 1966 speech at the Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, MLK stated, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman”. I couldn’t agree more.
Globally, health inequities are numerous and mostly preventable. Neglected Tropical Diseases, maternal deaths, and malnutrition vividly reflect the global health injustices MLK foresaw
Growing up in Nigeria as a high school student in the 1980s, I was introduced to MLK through reading editions of Ebony magazine. I remember with nostalgia how I walked to roadside book sellers to buy old copies of the magazine.
These magazines introduced me to Black American social justice debates, including the works of MLK and Thurgood Marshall. It was an opportunity to connect spiritually with Africans in the diaspora – Black Americans – and their struggles. What struck me most as a child was MLK’s nonviolent demand for racial justice.
After high school, I went on to medical school in Nigeria to begin my training as a doctor. By the time I graduated in 1998, it was clear to me that patients’ rights must be respected in healthcare delivery. As health workers, we must prioritize preventive care while providing the care our patients need.
At the time, I did not know the right term for my convictions. Decades into my work in global health, I came to understand the term for my beliefs: health equity. In 2018, I delivered my first TEDx talk titled “Without Health We Have Nothing“. This is why MLK’s assertion that health injustice is the worst form of inequality resonates deeply with me. Healthcare – or its absence – is truly a matter of life and death.
Globally, health inequities are numerous and mostly preventable. Neglected Tropical Diseases, maternal deaths, and malnutrition vividly reflect the global health injustices MLK foresaw.
Neglected Tropical Diseases
Want to see a perfect example of diseases that disproportionately affect poor people? Look no further than Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). These diseases affect 1.6 billion people globally, primarily in Africa and Asia. Many people do not realize some, like those mentioned in the Bible, still exist today.
A prime example is leprosy – a slow-growing bacterial infection that affects the skin, nerves, and sometimes the eyes and nose. Surprisingly, in 2024, the U.S. saw a significant rise in leprosy cases, particularly in the southeastern region, with central Florida identified as a hotspot.
Data reveals that approximately 34% of new cases reported between 2015 and 2020 were locally acquired. Without treatment, leprosy causes numb patches and potential deformities. Fortunately, leprosy is completely curable with antibiotics when caught early.
Other NTDs include river blindness, trachoma, and noma. Noma, in particular, is heartbreaking – it predominantly affects children between and six years who are malnourished, live in unhygienic conditions, or have weak immune systems.
Noma starts as a sore in the mouth but can destroy facial tissues, leaving severe deformities if untreated. Proper hygiene, nutrition, and healthcare can prevent noma, but it remains a reality in the poorest parts of the world.
Maternal Mortality
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) captures the essence of safe motherhood with its statement: “No woman should die while giving life“. Tragically, for many women in low- and middle-income countries, and even wealthier nations, this isn’t the case.
In Nigeria alone, over 80,000 women die annually during pregnancy, childbirth, or shortly afterward. A professor once likened Nigeria’s high maternal mortality to filling a commercial jet with pregnant women every day and letting it crash – a haunting image. This huge injustice should not be allowed to continue.
In contrast, the United States of America has a higher maternal mortality rate compared to other wealthy countries, largely due to the disproportionately high maternal death rate among Black women. Black women are still 2 to 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than White women, regardless of their education level or socioeconomic status.
The solutions to stopping maternal deaths are not rocket science. Prenatal care must identify high-risk pregnancies, and women need access to proper nutrition to reduce the risks of postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal deaths. With proper planning and preparation, including access to cesarean sections and emergency services, these deaths are preventable. Addressing these gaps would save countless lives.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a double-edged sword – it manifests as undernutrition (not enough nutrients) or overnutrition (eating too much). Both forms can be deadly, especially for children under five. Undernourished children fail to grow properly (wasting) and suffer impaired brain development, leading to stunting.
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Globally, 22% of children are stunted, with 90% of cases occurring in Africa and Asia. On the other hand, overnutrition causes obesity, increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases like diabetes.
The solutions are simple: Support mothers to breastfeed exclusively for six months, educate communities on using affordable, local foods to prepare nutritious meals, and invest in school feeding programs. These steps would dramatically reduce malnutrition’s toll.
MLK’s vision for health justice shapes my global health equity journey. On MLK Day, let us reflect on global health injustices and commit to ending them. Identify one health issue you are passionate about and take meaningful action to address it.
MLK was right – health injustice is the worst form of inequality because without health we have nothing.
Happy MLK Day!
Dr. Ifeanyi M. Nsofor, a public-health physician, global health equity advocate and behavioral-science researcher, serves on the Global Fellows Advisory Board at the Atlantic Institute, Oxford, United Kingdom. You can follow him @Ifeanyi Nsofor, MD on LinkedIn
Follow @ekemma
Read the original article on IPS.
AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing 400 news and information items daily from over 110 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
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Africa: Holders Zamalek Lead Star-Studded TotalEnergies Confederation Cup Quarter-Finals

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January 21, 2025

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The TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final line-up has been finalised with defending champions Zamalek leading a formidable array of clubs into the knock-out stages.
Eight teams from six nations will battle for continental glory when the quarter-finals commence on March 30, with the return legs scheduled for April 6.
Zamalek, who topped Group D with an impressive 14 points, are joined by fellow Egyptian side Al-Masry in the knockout stages.
The White Knights sealed their progress with a convincing 3-1 victory over Nigeria’s Enyimba on Sunday on the final matchday.
Tanzania’s Simba SC emerged as Group A winners, with Algeria’s CS Constantine securing second place.
Morocco’s Renaissance Berkane, previous winners of the competition, topped Group B ahead of South African debutants Stellenbosch.
USM Alger’s dominant Group C campaign saw them accumulate 14 points, while ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire dramatically claimed the final quarter-final berth with a convincing victory on the last day.
The quarter-final draw will prevent teams from the same group meeting, meaning Egyptian rivals Zamalek and Al-Masry cannot face each other until at least the semi-finals.
Zamalek will face one of CS Constantine, Stellenbosch, or ASEC Mimosas, while Al-Masry could meet Simba, Berkane, or USM Alger.
The tournament’s knockout phase structure ensures home advantage will be crucial, with group winners hosting the decisive second legs. The semi-finals are scheduled for April 20 and 27, with the two-legged final set for May 17 and 25.
The presence of former champions Zamalek and Berkane, alongside ambitious clubs like Simba and USM Alger, suggests an intriguing battle lies ahead for Africa’s second-tier club crown.
Read the original article on CAF.
AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing 400 news and information items daily from over 110 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
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ConCourt dismisses bid to block Petauke by-election

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January 21, 2025

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By Hannock Kasama

The Constitutional Court has dismissed the application for a Conservatory Order to halt the PETAUKE Central Constituency by-election.

The application was recently filed by Governance Activist, ISAAC MWANZA and Zambia Civil Liberties Union.

However, the Constitutional Court has ruled that the application by Mr. MWANZA and the Zambia Civil Liberties Union has not outweighed public interest to hold the PETAUKE Central by-election.

Constitutional Court Judge, MATHEWS CHISUNKA has also ruled that Mr. MWANZA and the Zambia Civil Liberties Union have not demonstrated any prejudice they would suffer on account of the holding of the PETAUKE Central by-election.

Mr. MWANZA and the Zambia Civil Liberties Union had filed a petition in the Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of National Assembly Speaker NELLY MUTTI’s declaration of the PETAUKE Central seat vacant.

The post ConCourt dismisses bid to block Petauke by-election appeared first on ZNBC-Just for you.

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