Greta v. Andrew dominates online climate conversation
Here’s your roundup of the climate conversation on social media this week
Welcome to Climate Monitor, a weekly digest of the digital strategies polluters and pro-Climate groups are using to shift public opinion and move legislation. We’ve examined political ad spending on social media platforms, as well as what’s trending on social media. Here’s what we found:
Toplines:
Environmental advocacy groups spent big on Facebook ads last week as part of their year-end grassroots fundraising campaigns
Right-wing media outlets like FOX News continue to publish & share stories attacking electric vehicles
Several posts from President Joe Biden touting his administration’s climate actions received major organic engagement on Facebook
The Greta Thunberg vs. Andrew Tate feud spawned dozens of viral memes across Facebook and Instagram last week, earning millions of likes, comments, and shares
Facebook + Instagram Advertising
Here were the top 20 climate and energy-related advertisers on Facebook and Instagram last week:
In the final week of 2022, the American Chemistry Council (aka the plastics lobby) was one of the highest-spending political advertisers on Facebook nationwide. The group’s ads weren’t terrible, however - they just encouraged the recycling of holiday-related products.
A host of environmental advocacy organizations spent heavily on Facebook and Instagram to close out 2022, including Defenders of Wildlife, the Wilderness Society, and NRDC. Most of these groups’ ads involved year-end grassroots fundraising campaigns.
Meanwhile, our friends at Resource Media continue using at least three different Facebook pages to promote pro-climate news articles - most recently about EV’s, plastics, and climate innovations.
Google + YouTube Advertising
There were two climate-related advertisers archived in Google’s political transparency report last week. The Resouces Legacy Fund / Center for Western Priorities spent around $7,500 pushing the Biden administration to designate new national monuments. Here’s an example of what they’re running:
Additionally, the NRDC Action Fund spent $2,200 on YouTube ads urging NM Gov. Lujan Grisham and CO Gov. Polis to take additional pro-climate action.
Snapchat Advertising
Snapchat has not yet published a new archive of 2023 ad spending on its platform. To view past year’s archives, you can click here>>
Trending on Social Media
How are climate and energy issues being discussed by Americans on social media? Here were the top-performing public posts (by # of interactions) related to climate and energy on Facebook last week:
Some good news: the most-engaged Facebook post about climate and energy issues last week came from President Joe Biden, who shared a photo ticking off his administration’s 2022 accomplishments - which included “the largest investment in tackling the climate crisis in history.”
That post was unfortunately followed by one from FOX News, which continues to spread negative stories about electric vehicles.
We should also note that more than a handful of top-performing Facebook posts dealt with the Greta Thunberg - Andrew Tate spat, in which the famous climate activist successfully clapped back at the right-wing internet troll.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, here were the top-performing feed posts (excluding Reels & stories) related to climate and energy last week:
Even more so than on Facebook, news of Thunberg’s feud with Tate went absolutely viral on Instagram, spawning dozens of viral memes and millions of likes, comments, and shares. The majority were supportive of the teenage climate activist.
Big on TikTok
What was big on #ClimateTikTok last week?
This one from content creator @nessa.may.8 (posted on December 12th) outlining the effects of climate change continues to rack up the views:
Weekly Reading
Will Trump be allowed back on Facebook? Parent company Meta is expected to decide soon on the fate of Trump’s accounts (AXIOS, ¼)
ICYMI, Twitter is relaxing its ban on political advertising in the coming weeks. Over the past three years, enforcement of the platform’s ban has been spotty at best and full of loopholes (New York Times, ⅓)
That’s it for this week! If you enjoyed reading this week’s issue, feel free to forward it to a friend or colleague.
Climate Monitor is a product of the Digital Climate Coalition + FWIW Media. Tips/comments/questions? Email kyle@fwiwmedia.com