"A new report details a growing fad among a certain sect of conspiracy-minded health and lifestyle influencers on Instagram: climate denial".
"When Cecile Simmons, a part-time yoga instructor, scrolled through her Instagram feed earlier this year, she noticed something peculiar happening among the health and wellness influencers she followed: some had started posting climate change conspiracies.
A post from the New Age spirituality account @aguidetoawakening, for example, had told its 10,900 followers that the “The accelerating ‘climate change’ is not due to human activities,” but due to the “organic phenomenon of Asciention Mechanics.”
Another post from @drmercola, a homeopath with 500,000 followers, claimed that “Biden wants to block out the sun to save the planet.” That post garnered 8,470 likes and 1,405 comments.
Alarmed, Simmons—who also happens to be a full-time misinformation researcher—decided to look into the phenomenon further. And on Thursday, the results of her research, published by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, found that a small group of self-styled health and lifestyle gurus are helping climate denial find traction with new audiences."
Arielle Samuelson reports for HEATED November 16, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"With Climate Misinformation On The Rise, Here's How To Spot It" (WFAE)
"An Alarming Pattern: Climate Disasters Hit, And Spanish-Language Misinformation Spreads" (NBC News)
"Tweets, Ads, and Lies: Researchers Are Fighting against Climate Misinformation" (Boston University)
"Rampant Climate Disinformation Online Is Distorting Dangers, Delaying Climate Action" (UN)
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