
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast Follow The Money: Who’s driving climate disinformation?
Dec 18, 2025
Jake Dubbins, an expert in advertising, climate, and human rights, probes the murky world of climate disinformation. He discusses how fossil fuel advertising parallels cigarette marketing and the alarming impact of automated ad systems that amplify harmful content. Dubbins also outlines the new Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, aiming for policy change and transparency. With insights into AI's role in spreading misinformation, the conversation highlights the urgent need to address trust erosion in climate discourse.
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The Trillion-Dollar Attention Economy
- Advertising spending has ballooned into the trillion-dollar attention economy driving influence.
- That scale makes commercial messaging a major vector for shaping public perception about climate.
Phase Out Fossil Fuel Ads Strategically
- Phase out fossil fuel advertising by giving media owners and agencies a clear route to act.
- Use levers like revenue analysis, board engagement, legal risk assessment and transition opportunities to push change.
Platforms Control The Information Flow
- A few big platforms absorb most ad dollars and therefore control vast swathes of information.
- Platform opacity plus programmatic buying lets harmful content be monetized without advertisers' knowledge.



