Last year, Facebook promised that it would crack down on climate misinformation, attaching informational labels to false content in order to better inform users. However, a new report from a UK watchdog group found that Facebook has only labeled about half the posts from leading climate deniers on its platform.

The researchers only analyzed posts published after Facebook said it would institute the change. In response, the social media giant said that it was still testing the feature at that time. Regardless, the researchers are calling on lawmakers to step up and do more to regulate Facebook’s content moderation practices.

“Facebook has consistently shown they can’t be trusted,” climate disinformation expert Michael Khoo told NPR. “Facebook needs to open the books and lawmakers must step in to require full transparency from them and other social media platforms.”

“[Our] research echoes the exposés by Frances Haugen and others: Facebook will say one thing, and yet do another,” he continued. “Facebook should not be trusted and must be regulated, especially as they attempt to escape to the metaverse.”

It’s not surprising that Facebook hasn’t lived up to these lofty promises; after all, the company has faced similar blowback for failing to control medical misinformation. But this report does make it crystal clear that much more needs to be done to stop the spread of dangerous and false content.

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