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The 2024 farmers' protests across Europe have been weaponized by disinformation, obscuring their original demands about agriculture policies and rural concerns. Report "Fertile Ground for Disinformation" explores these narratives.
Here are some key findings

The misinformation largely revolved around the supposed EU control over food, agriculture, and even claims of weather manipulation.

Here are some disinformation narratives we detected and the evolution of their prevalence over time:

Some of the key findings of the report include:
Anti-EU climate policy narratives were 3x more engaging than general anti-climate action claims on social media.
81.6% of the most popular posts featuring these narratives came from far-right politicians.

False narratives like the EU promoting lab-grown meat and govts destroying water infrastructure were widespread, fueling distrust towards climate policies. From local grievances, the protests converged into a meta-narrative calling for termination of EU climate action - obscuring the protesters' actual demands.

The narratives highlight the complex interaction between environmental policies and public perception, impacting elections and future actions.

Read the full article | Download the report
https://science.feedback.org/farmers-protests-weaponized-to-spread-climate-misinformation-report-finds/