Although a study recently published by the Center for Management and Strategic Studies (CGEE) indicated that 78% of Brazilians believe in the human impact on climate change faced across the planet, attempts to deny the relationship between climate change and floods have been frequent in Rio Grande do Sul. Given the publicdisaster in the State, investigative reports and fact-checking initiatives have pointed to the widespread circulation of misinformation on networks, which hinders assistance to victims and is used in search of profit, engagement or political support.
On the 20th, a protocol of cooperation was signed between the AGU, representing the federal government and the main digital platforms operating in the country with the aim of combating misinformation on the climate tragedy that left Rio Grande do Sul in a state of public didaster in recent weeks. However, not only have the platforms been ineffective in curbing the spread of false and distorted information about the floods, they have actively rewarded those responsible for it.
Here, we present evidence on how YouTube has allowed content creators to run ads on problematic flooding videos. The examples found vary considerably and present misinformation about the actions of different state organs in supporting the victims of the tragedy, the purported religious and apocalyptic motivations behind the floods and the relationship between the public disaster and climate change.
We consider this last point to be the most serious among those presented here as it is not new to YouTube. On the contrary, we have also found several monetized videos published over the last year that minimize the impacts of climate change and that often seek to reduce it to a mere narrative for the purposes of social control.
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