Exclusive: Linked accounts on X push petrostate’s posts about climate summit and drown out criticism

Linked accounts on X push petrostate’s posts about climate summit and drown out criticism

Scores of apparently fake social media accounts are boosting Azerbaijan’s hosting of the Cop29 climate summit, an investigation has revealed.

The accounts were mostly set up after July, at which time seven of the top 10 most engaged posts using the hashtags #COP29 and #COP29Azerbaijan were critical of Azerbaijan’s role in the conflict with Armenia, using hashtags such as #stopgreenwashgenocide. By September this had changed, with all of the top 10 most engaged posts coming from the official Cop29 Azerbaijan account.

Global Witness, which conducted the analysis, said artificially inflating the reach of government posts was drowning out independent criticism of the country’s record on the climate crisis and repression of human rights.

Azerbaijan’s government will oversee the UN climate summit, which starts on 11 November, and where nations will attempt to deliver the urgent cuts in fossil fuel burning that scientists say are imperative to avoid the most destructive impacts of climate breakdown.

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    MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: Medium - Factual Reporting: Mixed - United Kingdom

    The Guardian - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)

    Information for The Guardian:

    Wiki: reliable - There is consensus that The Guardian is generally reliable. The Guardian’s op-eds should be handled with WP:RSOPINION. Some editors believe The Guardian is biased or opinionated for politics. See also: The Guardian blogs.
    Wiki: mixed - Most editors say that The Guardian blogs should be treated as newspaper blogs or opinion pieces due to reduced editorial oversight. Check the bottom of the article for a “blogposts” tag to determine whether the page is a blog post or a non-blog article. See also: The Guardian.

    MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: Medium - Factual Reporting: Mixed - United Kingdom

    The Guardian - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)

    Information for The Guardian:

    Wiki: reliable - There is consensus that The Guardian is generally reliable. The Guardian’s op-eds should be handled with WP:RSOPINION. Some editors believe The Guardian is biased or opinionated for politics. See also: The Guardian blogs.
    Wiki: mixed - Most editors say that The Guardian blogs should be treated as newspaper blogs or opinion pieces due to reduced editorial oversight. Check the bottom of the article for a “blogposts” tag to determine whether the page is a blog post or a non-blog article. See also: The Guardian.

    MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: Medium - Factual Reporting: Mixed - United Kingdom

    Twitter - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)

    Information for Twitter:

    Wiki: unreliable - Twitter (rebranded to X since July 2023) is a social network. As a self-published source, it is considered generally unreliable and should be avoided unless the author is a subject-matter expert or the tweet is used for an uncontroversial self-description. In most cases, Twitter accounts should only be cited if the user’s identity is confirmed in some way. Tweets that are not covered by reliable sources are likely to constitute undue weight. Twitter should never be used for third-party claims related to living persons.

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    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/24/crunch-time-for-real-un-says-time-for-climate-delays-has-run-out
    https://x.com/COP29_AZ
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/23/cop29-host-azerbaijan-set-for-major-fossil-gas-expansion-report-says
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/29/apparently-fake-social-media-accounts-boost-azerbaijan-before-cop29

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