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'No Excuse': News Outlets Backed by Big Oil Ads Quiet After UN Chief's Call for Ban
An end to fossil fuel advertising on news networks and websites would "hit oil companies where it hurts," said one expert.
Jun 07, 2024
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was unequivocal this week in his call for a global ban on fossil fuel advertising—but while outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times covered his remarks on Wednesday, the corporate media showed little sign of abiding by Guterres demand that they stop helping oil and gas companies to "greenwash" their climate records and their effects on the planet.
The Guardianreported Friday that it received few responses when it reached out to 11 major news organizations and tech companies including Politico and Meta, with a spokesperson for Politico defending its practice of running fossil fuel advertisements alongside news coverage.
"Advertisers are prominently identified, and a clear distinction between news and ads, including sponsored content, is maintained across Politico's platforms," said the spokesperson. "No advertiser or advertisement sways editorial decisions or news judgment."
But as Harvard climate disinformation expert Naomi Oreskes told The Guardian, regardless of their ad policies, outlets like Politico, CNN, and others are likely clouding their audiences' understanding of the gravity of the climate emergency by reporting on the issue—only to then display ads by the companies that are responsible for heating the planet.
"No one is saying this is easy," Oreskes said. "But we need to face the hard stuff."
The Australian grassroots group Climate Council noted on Friday that since Guterres' speech, Channel 10 has continued airing "gas lobby ads like a news bulletin."
As The Guardianreported, an Australian Senate inquiry into greenwashing found that since March, the network has aired segments sponsored by gas industry lobbyists that were "made to look exactly the same as the headlines and using the 10 News sets."
"Big fossil fuel corporations in Australia have become expert greenwashers, gaslighting Australians and cashing in on the climate crisis," said Climate Council.
In his comments, Guterres urged public relations and advertising firms as well as news networks to view fossil fuel advertising the same way they have come to see tobacco ads, which some publications have stopped running in recent years due to the products' human health harms.
Jamie Henn, director of Fossil Free Media, pointed out that the Times said in 1999 that it would no longer display cigarette ads because editors didn't "want to expose our readers to advertising that may be harmful to their health."
Henn implored the Times: "Tell me the same logic doesn't apply to fossil fuels."
The Guardian, Vox, and Le Monde are among global news publications that have stopped selling ad space to oil, coal, and gas companies in recent years. Amsterdam became the first city in the world to ban fossil fuel ads, and France enacted a ban on certain ads for the industry in 2022, while the United Kingdom did the same for misleading environmental terminology in ads this year.
Similar actions globally would "hit oil companies where it hurts," University of Miami professor Geoffrey Supran told The Guardian.
"If Big Oil loses its ability to lobby the public," he said, "its political power to delay climate action will be severely diminished."
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UN Chief Calls for Global Ban on Fossil Fuel Advertising
"There is no longer any cover for agencies to say that they are doing the right thing when working with polluters," said one campaigner. "Everyone knows this is wrong, and everyone needs to act."
Jun 05, 2024
Despite the grim news that scientists on Wednesday reported last month as the hottest May on record globally, marking 12 straight months with record-breaking heat, climate advocates expressed optimism after United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres signaled what one called a "game-changing intervention," urging governments to ban advertisements by fossil fuel firms.
The demand is in line with prohibitions on advertising for other "products that harm human health—like tobacco," said Guterres.
"Some are now doing the same with fossil fuels," he added. "I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies."
The secretary-general directly appealed to advertising and public relations companies and urged them to stop helping the fossil fuel industry in its quest to "shamelessly" greenwash their climate records and the harm their products do to the planet as well as to human health, with 1 in 5 deaths worldwide caused by air pollution.
"I call on these companies to stop acting as enablers to planetary destruction. Stop taking on new fossil fuel clients, from today, and set out plans to drop your existing ones," said Guterres. "Fossil fuels are not only poisoning our planet—they're toxic for your brand. Your sector is full of creative minds who are already mobilizing around this cause. They are gravitating towards companies that are fighting for our planet—not trashing it."
The secretary-general's comments called to mind the work of Clean Creatives, a project of Fossil Free Media, which calls on public relations, branding, and advertising agencies to sign a pledge stating that they will no longer work with the fossil fuel industry. More than 1,000 agencies have signed the pledge.
"U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres deserves recognition for saying so clearly that advertising and PR agencies should be cutting ties with fossil fuel polluters," said Duncan Meisel, executive director of Clean Creatives. "This is a turning point in the advertising and PR industry's relationship with climate change and fossil fuels. There is no longer any cover for agencies to say that they are doing the right thing when working with polluters. Everyone knows this is wrong, and everyone needs to act.
"We are living through the hottest years in human history, and Secretary Guterres' statements today show what a safe climate future could look like for the creative and PR industry," said Meisel.
The Global Strategic Communications Council pointed to several examples of high-profile advertisements that have promoted the notion that fossil fuel energy is not endangering the planet and that the industry is committed to protecting the planet from catastrophic heating. The American Petroleum Institute launched an eight-figure ad blitz earlier this year, aiming to "dismantle policy threats," and in April, energy company Aramco was announced as a sponsor of the 2026 men's World Cup and the 2027 women's World Cup.
"Fossil money is everywhere making the ambitious action on climate that the science says we need difficult or impossible—social scientists have shown this pattern—it's ubiquitous and it's devastating," said Timmons Roberts, executive director of the Climate Social Science Network. "The 'enablers' are a key part of this blockage—PR firms, social and legacy media, consultancies, law firms, and financial actors all play roles in the obstruction of our building a livable future, which soon has to be without fossil fuels.”
Guterres said that in addition to bans on fossil fuel advertising—which have been embraced in France and the Dutch city of Amsterdam, and proposed in Canada, Ireland, and Scotland—news media and tech companies should stop displaying the industry's ads.
"All of us can make a difference, by embracing clean technologies, phasing down fossil fuels in our own lives, and using our power as citizens to push for systemic change," said Guterres.
Jake Dubbins, co-chair of the Conscious Advertising Network, called the secretary-general's speech "a huge signal to the advertising industry."
"As the misinformation tactics of the tobacco industry and the threat of its products to human health became clear, advertising was restricted and then banned," said Dubbins. "The same will happen for fossil fuel advertising. The industry should see this as a tipping point, but one of opportunity."
"Will the industry fully embrace the opportunities of the transition and secure a livable future or will it risk the maintenance of the status quo at the cost to its people, its non-fossil fuel clients, and its reputation?" he said. "The time to lead is now."
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Amnesty Says EU Digital Services Act 'Must Be Robustly Enforced'
With the act now in effect for most platforms, the European Commission and member states "must resist any attempts by Big Tech companies to water down implementation," said one expert.
Feb 17, 2024
As the European Union's Digital Services Act expanded to cover nearly all online platforms in the bloc on Saturday, Amnesty International stressed the importance of robust enforcement.
"It's a historic day for tech accountability," said Alia Al Ghussain, researcher and adviser on technology and human rights at Amnesty Tech, in a statement. "Today must mark the end of the era of unregulated Big Tech, and for that to happen, the DSA must be robustly enforced to avoid it becoming a paper tiger."
"Today must mark the end of the era of unregulated Big Tech."
E.U. member states and the European Commission "are primarily responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of the additional obligations that apply to Big Tech companies under the DSA," Al Ghussain added. "They must resist any attempts by Big Tech companies to water down implementation and enforcement efforts, and insist on putting human rights at the forefront of this new digital landscape."
Some of the E.U.'s online rulebook took effect in August for 19 major platforms and search engines: Alibaba AliExpress; Amazon; Bing; Booking.com; Apple's AppStore; Google's Play, Maps, Search, Shopping, and YouTube; LinkedIn; Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram; Pinterest; Snapchat; TikTok; Wikipedia; X, formerly called Twitter; and Zalando.
The European Commission took its first formal action under the DSA in December, announcing an investigation into X—which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk—for "suspected breach of obligations to counter illegal content and disinformation, suspected breach of transparency obligations, and suspected deceptive design of user interface."
As of Saturday, the DSA applies to all online platforms, with some exceptions for firms that have fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover below €10 million ($10.78 million)—though those companies must still designate a point of contact for authorities and users as well as have clear terms and conditions.
The DSA bans targeting minors with advertisements based on personal data and targeting all users with ads based on sensitive data such as religion or sexual preference. The act also requires platforms to provide users with: information about advertising they see; a tool to flag illegal content; explanations for content moderation decisions; and a way to challenge such decisions. Platforms are further required to publish a report about content moderation procedures at least once a year.
While companies that violate the DSA could be fined up to 6% of their global annual turnover or even banned in the E.U., imposing such penalties isn't the ultimate goal. According toAgence France-Presse:
Beyond the prospect of fines, Alexandre de Streel of the think tank Centre on Regulation in Europe, said the law aimed ultimately to change the culture of digital firms.
"The DSA is a gradual system, everything is not going to change in one minute and not on February 17," he said. "The goal isn't to impose fines, it's that platforms change their practices."
Still, Thierry Breton, a former French tech CEO now serving as the European commissioner for the internal market, said in a statement that "we encourage all member states to make the most out of our new rulebook."
Like Amnesty's Al Ghussain, he stressed that "effective enforcement is key to protect our citizens from illegal content and to uphold their rights."
Earlier this week, Politicoreported that "senior E.U. officials like Breton and Věra Jourová, commission vice president for values and transparency, have butted heads over how to sell the rulebook to both companies and the wider public." Internal battles and industry pushback aren't the only barriers to effectively implementing the DSA.
"At the national level, member countries are expected to nominate local regulators by February 17 to coordinate the pan-E.U. rules via a European Board for Digital Services," Politico noted. "That group will hold its first meeting in Brussels early next week. But as of mid-February, only a third of those agencies were in place, based on the commission's own data, although existing regulators in Brussels, Paris, and Dublin are already cooperating."
Campaigners are also acknowledging the shortcomings of the DSA. European Digital Rights on Saturday recirculated a November 2022 essay in which EDRi policy advisers Sebastian Becker Castellaro Jan Penfrat argued that "the DSA is a positive step forward" but "no content moderation policy in the world will protect us from harmful online content as long as we do not address the dominant, yet incredibly damaging surveillance business model of most large tech firms."
Meanwhile, Al Ghussain said that "to mitigate the human rights risks posed by social media platforms, the European Commission must tackle the addictive and harmful design of these platforms, including changes to recommender systems so that they are no longer hardwired for engagement at all costs, nor based on user profiling by default."
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