In recent years, narratives that deny, downplay, or misrepresent the reality of climate change have become increasingly common in the digital spaces of Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as highlighted in the analysis titled “Fake Climate Stories Without Borders: Regional Anatomy of Disinformation.”

The fact-checking platform Raskrinkavanje.me noted, “While these narratives might appear fragmented and locally specific, their structure, origins, and intentions reveal a remarkable degree of similarity, indicating the presence of globally coordinated disinformation patterns that have successfully adapted to regional contexts, aided by social networks and unregulated media.”

Across all four countries, there is a persistent effort to erode public trust in science, climate institutions, and essential measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Rather than outright denying the climate crisis, a more nuanced form of disinformation is present: downplaying the human role in climate change, undermining renewable energy sources, misappropriating scientific terms (e.g., Milankovitch cycles), and propagating conspiracy theories related to the “climate agenda” of global elites. These narratives are primarily circulated by alternative media outlets, social media influencers, political extremists, and media channels already identified as sources of COVID misinformation.

Interestingly, the analysis reveals a strong correlation between political beliefs and susceptibility to climate disinformation, with far-right individuals and those apathetic towards politics and science more likely to accept such disinformation as fact. “Additionally, education, media literacy, and information sources—especially the prevalence of social media in daily news consumption—further influence audience vulnerability to these disinformation trends.”

Despite the varying levels of institutional responses and media resistance to climate disinformation, all countries in the region face a common challenge: building societal resilience against disinformation that threatens efforts in climate adaptation and energy transitions.

“This is why it is crucial to identify the dominant narratives, their promoters, and dissemination methods, to enhance citizen awareness and safeguard public discourse from manipulations that jeopardize not only scientific integrity but also the future of upcoming generations.”

This analysis was collaboratively produced by teams from regional fact-checking platforms, including Faktograf from Croatia, Raskrinkavanje.ba from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Raskrinkavanje.me from Montenegro, and Raskrikavanje, Istinomer, and FakeNews Tragač from Serbia, with the aim of mapping the most pervasive climate disinformation that shapes public discourse and undermines planetary preservation efforts, as stated.

The complete analysis can be found here link.

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