Journalists from three continents spotlight fake news in the climate crisis

In the lead-up to COP30 in Brazil this November, 25 journalists from Brazil, India, Kenya, and South Africa will be in Denmark to take part in a Danida Fellowship Centre learning programme from 8–19 September. Meet them 16 September at the after-work event “Misinformation in the era of global crises” hosted by Politiken media house in Copenhagen.

By Vibeke Quaade

When world leaders meet in Brazil for COP30, it will be the first time that information integrity will be a central theme in the negotiations. The background is the worrying increase in fake news, misinformation and disinformation which, according to both the UN’s Global Risk Report (2025) and the World Economic Forum (2024), have come to pose major global risks. Consciously or unconsciously spreading factually incorrect information undermines democracy, weakens trust in science and creates polarisation – also in the climate debate.

This is the background for gathering 25 journalists from Brazil, India, Kenya and South Africa in Denmark from 8 to 19 September in the run-up to the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil, in November.

Read the press release in Danish or in English and meet the group in Copenhagen 16 September 16.00 – 17.30 at Politiken’s  after-work event Misinformation in the era of global crisis.

The journalists will participate in the Danish Fellowship Centre learning programme “#2025 – Reporting from the Frontline of the Global Climate Crisis in an Era of Fake News”, which focuses on one of the greatest challenges of our time: How misinformation and fake news undermine the climate agenda and delay real solutions. See the full programme here

The programme has two overall goals:

1. To strengthen the representation of credible climate news in both local and national media.

2. To promote factually based climate coverage that resonates with the population.

It goes into depth in key disciplines such as fact-checking, science journalism, investigative journalism and constructive journalism. In addition, there are study visits focused on climate-sustainable solutions as well as meetings and discussions with climate summit negotiators, lobbyists, activists, researchers and media professionals.

After the two weeks in Copenhagen, all 25 journalists will continue to COP30 in Brazil in November 2025 where they will have a host of new skills and contacts to draw on when reporting to their respective media on the three continents.

Danida Fellowship Centre is implementing the programme in collaboration with the Danish Embassy in Brazil, Danish media institutions and other partners – in parallel with the UN, UNESCO and Brazil launch of the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change.

Eva Bisgaard Pedersen, Denmark’s ambassador to Brazil, exlains that the programme encourages broader cooperation.

“The Brazilian government has put the fight against misinformation and disinformation on the agenda leading up to COP30 because the spread of factually incorrect information, also in the context of climate change, is a global challenge. Science journalists play a central role in efforts to counter the challenges of misinformation and disinformation, and DFC’s learning programme is an important contribution in this regard. At the same time, it nicely supports the special climate partnership that Denmark has with Brazil leading up to COP30, among other things by virtue of the Danish EU presidency and the Danish-Brazilian co-chairmanship of the so-called NDC partnership in 2025.”

Lisbeth Knudsen, chairman of the Danish media outlet TjekDet, says,

“Climate misinformation is a hot topic in most of the world and is being discussed intensely. In Denmark, we have felt it particularly clearly because the climate agenda has been central to the political debate for many years. For TjekDet, it is important that we also share our experiences in relation to how best to communicate a fact check so that it actually works and reaches citizens – and at the same time learn from journalists from other parts of the world who are in the midst of other forms of pressure and challenges. A mutual exchange is important when it comes to strengthening global resilience against misinformation.”

Martin Bille Herman, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the OECD and UNESCO highlights the risks of mis- and disinformation and explains how UNESCO supports journalists in their work against fake news:

Climate change and biodiversity loss are best tackled together, is the message from the UN’s reports. This also applies to the spread of misinformation and disinformation, which in addition to confusing and delaying climate action also has a growing focus on biodiversity. UNESCO – the UN’s special agency for education, science and culture – has normative tools that can help with both nature protection and the framework conditions for the researchers, journalists and artists who cover the environmental crisis and its solutions. We – from the Danish side – are working to support this interdisciplinary UNESCO approach through the UNESCO delegation’s new initiative ‘Critical Roles’, which seeks to build bridges and synergy across traditional sectors.

Ulla Tawiah Næsby Tawiah, Director, Danida Fellowship Centre says:

Danida Fellowship Centre has organised similar programmes for journalists from African countries ahead of COP27 and in connection with the Africa Climate Summit before COP28. The goal is to strengthen credible climate reporting and promote fact-based stories that resonate locally. Journalists in developing and emerging countries have a strong interest in the climate agenda, as climate change is a lived reality in their regions. They benefit greatly from exchanging ideas and experiences with peers from other countries and from learning about the climate solutions Denmark has developed to address its own challenges.

The programme is planned in collaboration with the following partners: TjekDet, Videnskab.dk, Constructive Institute, Danwatch, DR’s climate editorial team, Politiken, UNESCO, UNEP, State of Green, Food Nation, WWF, Havn & By (Copenhagen) Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities of Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Royal Danish Embassy in Brazil, India, Kenya and South Africa, International Press Centre, Care Danmark, DanChurchAid,  journalists from #2022 & #2023. Reporting from the African frontline of the global climate crisis, Middelgrunden, African Futures Policy Hub (tbc), UniCEUB.

 

 

 

 

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