Pinterest prohibits climate misinformation in ads, content

Pinterest wants to remove any traces of climate misinformation from its platform. The company announced it will now remove any ads or content from its platform that violates its new policy.

In October, Google announced a similar policy. It prohibited advertisers, AdSense publishers and YouTube creators from running ads or monetizing misleading content around climate change.

New community and advertising guidelines. Pinterest’s new policy removes climate misinformation and disinformation. Specifically:

• Content that denies the existence or impacts of climate change, the human influence on climate change, or that climate change is backed by scientific consensus. 
• False or misleading content about climate change solutions that contradict well-established scientific consensus.
• Content that misrepresents scientific data, including by omission or cherry-picking, in order to erode trust in climate science and experts.
• Harmful false or misleading content about public safety emergencies including natural disasters and extreme weather events.

This all falls under the “Sensitive content” section of Pinterest’s advertising guidelines. 

Why Pinterest is doing this. Here’s what the company wrote about the policy change:

“Pinterest believes in cultivating a space that’s trusted and truthful for those using our platform. … The expanded climate misinformation policy is yet another step in Pinterest’s journey to combat misinformation and create a safe space online.”

Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s Head of Policy

Also, Earth Day is April 22. So expect more environmentally-friendly announcements from tech brands soon. Pinterest also noted some related “green” search trends that have spiked compared to 2021 – “zero waste tips” up 6X; “recycling clothes ideas” up 4X, “recycled home decor” up 95%; and “zero waste lifestyle” up 64%.

Pinterest ad prohibition. The company has cracked down on multiple types of advertising in recent years. Pinterest banned anti-vaccination ads in 2017, stopped running political ads in 2018 and banned weight loss ads last year. 

Why we care. In addition to making Pinterest a safe space for users, removing misinformation ads and content is good for brands. You never want your brand, ads or content to be associated with misleading content or any kinds of content that could reflect poorly on you. But if you ever have or do post content in this space? Tread carefully heading forward on Pinterest. 

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