Massive Attack cofounder Robert Del Naja, A.K.A. 3D, is helping develop a new AI that flags climate misinformation on social media.
Launched in October, Eco-bot.net is currently set up to flag ads it deems “greenwashing.” According to their site, greenwashing is when corporate advertisers mislead consumers about their green credentials. As of this writing, 1,369 ads posted on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have been flagged as containing false or misleading information regarding climate change.
Del Naja developed the system alongside artist/researcher Bill Poster and Dale Vince, the founder of green energy company Ecotricity. According to an interview with Creative Review, the project was meant to run alongside a scheduled show in Liverpool. The group canceled the show in protest when they found out an arms fair was taking place at the venue, however. Instead, they shifted their focus to The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Their platform flagged numerous greenwashing examples from companies who sponsored the conference.
“In terms of the way it’s propagating [climate misinformation] on social media, it’s frightening,” Del Naja said. “When we ask Facebook what their response is to some of the information we’re picking up, some of the data we’re finding, they always refer us to the fact-checkers. But who are the fact-checkers?”