Climate Journalism in East Africa in an Era of Misinformation

"Climate mis/disinformation is deceptive or misleading content that undermines the existence, drivers and impacts of climate change as well as the need for urgent climate action."



This report shares the findings of a research project undertaken by the Earth Journalism Network (EJN) to explore the media and journalistic landscape in East Africa surrounding climate misinformation. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the climate change reporting habits among journalists in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania; explore their perceptions and understanding of the causes and impacts of climate change; assess their perceptions regarding climate mis/disinformation and the practices surrounding it; and ascertain what is required to improve the quality of climate coverage in the region.



As explained in the report, "In order to inform the public about the sources and impacts of climate change, as well as the potential solutions to this crisis, there is a need for effective, engaging, clear and accessible science-based information about climate impacts, their link to climate change and the steps that individuals and communities can take to mitigate risks and build resilience." However, "the media landscape is increasingly clouded by climate mis/ disinformation, which is the incidental or deliberate spread of false or misleading information about climate change to create doubt or confusion about scientific consensus." The spread of this inaccurate and untrustworthy information promotes false solutions and can delay efforts that support mitigation and adaptation and erode public trust in science and the media. There is, therefore, a need to gain a better understanding of how to support journalists - and audiences - in the region, and this research was designed to feed into this process. It is based on an online survey with 468 responses, interviews with 14 key informants, and eight focus group discussions.



The findings are discussed in detail in the report. The following are some of the findings highlighted by the researchers:

• Two-thirds of the journalist respondents stated they are regularly reporting on climate change topics at least monthly. The reporting habits are similar across the four East African countries. The most widely used primary sources of climate information include respective government agencies, scientists, researchers, scientific articles, and academic data sets. Information from politicians and policymakers, climate-focused corporations/businesses, family, and friends is not considered trustworthy. Primary sources of information are derived from governments and subject area experts in the respective countries. Journalists also rely on other local news channels (both in English and local languages), community radio, and major news websites such as Al Jazeera, BBC, and CNN as secondary sources of climate information. Social media and the internet are important platforms for the dissemination and consumption of climate-related information.
• Major gaps and disparities exist in the opinions and climate knowledge of journalists in all four East African countries regarding climate change. The risk of reporting inaccurately on the science of climate change or disseminating involuntarily misinformation is high in the absence of credible information sources. Some notable and sometimes "alarming" findings highlighted in the report related to this matter include:
  • Two-thirds of journalists still feel the need to "balance" their stories with the view of climate sceptics.
  • At least a third of journalist respondents don't seem to have time or capacity to fact-check their stories.
  • Roughly half of the respondents believe that moving to net zero will be bad for their country's economy, and 40% believe decarbonisation will hold their countries back.
  • Roughly half of the respondents are unaware that the sea level is rising.
• There is a lack of confidence among the majority of journalists with regard to their understanding of climate change. The motivation for climate reporting for most journalists is to sensitise the public to the risks posed by climate change and to make them aware of potential solutions that would strengthen mitigation and/or resilience and help them make informed decisions. They also want to push for better laws, policies, and measures to curb global warming. The majority want their governments to act against people and corporations involved in activities that destroy the climate. On the other hand, there is a small group of journalists who want to represent climate change as a fake concept.
• There is a lack of capacity to tackle climate mis/disinformation in the region, and there are divergent views regarding what the term "climate misinformation" means. Whereas a third of the journalists have some grasp of the term, the majority are not sure of the concept. Another third of the journalists said they don't know the meaning of the term. Journalists aren't sure whether the sponsors of climate information stories they feature are practising mis/disinformation or not.
• The main obstacles that hinder the effectiveness of climate change reporting include: insufficient coverage; generic narratives that adopt a global perspective; a focus on overarching trends and international agreements; lack of access to climate experts; absence of training opportunities; lack of specialisation among journalists; and the lack of climate knowledge among journalists covering other beats. Other major challenges making it difficult for journalists to cover climate stories are budget limitations and the security issues affecting travel to conflict zones.

Based on this research, the report makes a number of recommendations for journalists, journalism networks, media houses, and funding organisations. They include, for example, the following:

• Journalists should enhance their capacity to report on climate change and to detect and analyse information about climate change through study and training. Additional training specifically on climate mis/disinformation and on countering its effects would also be helpful.
• There is huge scope for more economic enterprise reporting on climate change, whether it's examining the impacts, looking at solutions, or investigating the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Journalists should collaborate with one another to integrate climate change into broader stories - not just about the weather but also about how climate change is affecting business, politics, society, etc. - ensuring more comprehensive coverage.
• Journalists should establish relationships with climate experts in order to access accurate and credible information on climate change, which could also lead to more and better data journalism on the subject.
• Journalists should focus on localised stories that highlight the impacts of climate change on specific communities and express them in local languages that their local audiences can understand and relate to.
• Journalism networks need to establish relationships with climate experts and research institutions - ultimately creating a reliable network for journalists to access accurate information - and strengthen alliances that foster collaborations between African practitioners, thought leaders, and climate experts to ensure diverse and comprehensive climate reporting in the region.
• Media outlets need to organise training for their journalists, or at least allow their journalists to participate in such trainings, to enhance their capacity for climate journalism, including countering climate mis/disinformation.
• Media outlets should enhance the capacity of their editorial teams to integrate climate reporting into their day-to-day reporting on all kinds of topics, and if they have the resources, consider creating dedicated climate sections for climate reporting, allowing specialised journalists to cover the issue more extensively.
• Funding organisations are encouraged to allocate more resources to climate journalism for the training of both core teams of reporters in climate change and of journalists in other beats who need expertise, as well. This would support journalist networks in the region to provide in-depth and sustained coverage of the issue.
• Funders should provide grants or funding for climate reporting projects in the region. Such support can enable ambitious investigative, collaborative, or data-based efforts, but in many cases even supporting just basic daily coverage is warranted. They cannot rely on the market (i.e., commercially funded media) to provide these public information services.