Natural gas lobby pushes “clean energy” drumbeat in Facebook ads
Here’s your roundup of the climate conversation across social media this week
Welcome to Climate Monitor, a weekly report on 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:
Several organizations with ties to the natural gas industry are running dozens of Facebook and Instagram ads pushing the talking point that the fossil fuel is “clean energy.”
The White House continues to promote a nationwide move to electric vehicles on its social media accounts
Glenn Beck and other right-wing pundits mocked the environmental movement by highlighting stories about “human composting” efforts online
On TikTok and elsewhere, videos and posts about California’s current weather crisis were spread far and wide
An analysis of Facebook posts from 2022 shows how conservative pundits and pages have launched all-out war on electric vehicles
The debate over the dangers of gas stoves ignited a right-wing firestorm this week - we’ll have more data and reporting on that in next week’s issue.
Digital Advertising Roundup
Facebook + Instagram advertising
For starters, here were the top 20 climate and energy-related advertisers on Facebook and Instagram last week:
Facebook and Instagram ad spending on climate and energy-related issues was limited last week, but there were a few noteworthy trends:
Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, a dark money group that supports natural gas production, continued running Facebook ads claiming “natural gas is key to reducing global emissions,” and used former Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) as a prominent spokesperson. About 90% of the group’s ad spend targeted users in Washington, DC.
Natural Allies wasn’t the only industry group running ads asserting natural gas is a much-needed source of clean energy. So did the Partnership for Energy Progress, American Petroleum Institute, Williams Company, Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development, and the Partnership to Address Global Emissions. Most of these organizations have direct ties to industry, and the vast majority of their ads were targeted nationwide:
We also wanted to flag a new campaign from the Conservation Minnesota Voter Center, which began heavily promoting an editorial that outlined state Democrats’ pro-climate agenda. Those ads were targeted to voters across Minnesota.
Google & YouTube Advertising
There were very few Google ads related to climate and energy issues last week that were archived according to the company’s political ad policies. However, we did see one small campaign from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, which is pushing back against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s anti-climate agenda.
The group has spent a few hundred dollars targeting Virginians on YouTube.
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>>
What’s 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:
Note: While drama and debate around whether or not to ban gas stoves consumed the political internet over the past few days, those posts will be included in *next week’s roundup,* as our tracking tools collect data from Sunday - Saturday of the previous week.
Engagement on climate and energy-related posts was down on Facebook last week, with President Joe Biden’s page actually receiving the most interactions on this type of content. Several of his top-performing posts related to the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act and electric vehicles:
One notable anti-climate post that received moderate levels of engagement came from conservative pundit Glenn Beck, who railed against “human composting.”
Meanwhile, on Instagram, here were the top-performing feed posts (excluding Reels & stories) related to climate and energy last week:
We did not identify any clear trend in climate posts on Instagram last week. Instead, the most engaged pieces of content dealt with a variety of climate topics - highlighting everything from heat waves, to floods, deforestation, and the general need for more climate action:
…and finally, what was big on #ClimateTikTok last week?
Here’s a recent one from @ajplus, which has received nearly half a million views and breaks down how coverage of overpopulation and its climate impact can sometimes be problematic.
Other notable TikToks focused on the “atmospheric rivers” creating an emergency situation across California, and how some European ski resorts are running out of snow.
The online war against electric vehicles
Over the past year, conservative media and right-wing social media accounts have found a new target of their misinformation and outrage: electric vehicles. On Facebook, that has translated into millions of likes, comments, and shares on posts critical of electric vehicles, far outpacing engagement on pro-EV posts.
Here’s a look at the top 10 public Facebook posts in the past year about electric vehicles:
Most of these posts were published in the second half of 2022, when it became clear that electric vehicle incentives would be included in the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. Their affiliation with the Biden administration’s climate agenda likely helped create an online firestorm.
There are basically two major criticisms of electric vehicles that conservatives have been eager to highlight on Facebook: (1) that electric vehicles can strain the power grid, and (2) their batteries don’t last and will leave drivers stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Weekly Reading
Facebook wanted out of politics. It was messier than anyone expected. (Wall Street Journal, ⅕)
How climate change will make atmospheric rivers even worse (Washington Post, 1/12)
Climate Startup Removes Carbon From Open Air in Industry First (Wall Street Journal, 1/12)
How the humble gas stove became the latest flash point in the culture wars (Washington Post, 1/11)
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