Carly Lubicz

Some thoughts from @cazuarina.bsky.social and I about some of the key elements and drivers involved in the complex issue of information integrity, with a particular focus on climate change and energy in Australia. Timely with the Select Committee into this issue having new public hearings this week.

Climate disinformation, the Atlas Network and Dr Karl The scourge of AI-slopaganda, viral disinformation campaigns and online attacks against individuals and institutions is going to get far worse before it gets better, if the latest public hearings on t...

So good to see the interconnections that have delayed an appropriate response to climate change getting mainstream coverage through this Inquiry. A key to information integrity is understanding the drivers of information upstream: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

QUT - Strengthening Public Opinion Formation Amid Digital Threats (PhD scholarship)

📢 PhD Scholarship at QUT to join my DECRA project "Democratic Resilience Online: Strengthening Public Opinion Formation Amid Digital Threats" @qutdmrc.bsky.social

📅 Applications close: 13/03/2026

More info here: www.qut.edu.au/study/fees-a...

Please share and reach out if you have questions!

Australia's social media ban for children under 16 begins today.

Our explainer paper provides an overview of the complex issue of social media bans for young teens, explaining the technical challenges, potential risks, and specific concerns voiced by parents and carers.

Read it here: qut.to/1ww5%

Brilliant to work with these two legends and the broader @qutdmrc.bsky.social team 😍 I’ve said it before (and I’ll keep saying it!), but it’s so nice to be part of such a genuinely enabling community

Understanding Boutique News Media as a Novel Form of Journalism | Snurblog — Axel Bruns For my last conference of the year, I’ve made the short trip up to the Sunshine Coast to attend t

A great keynote by @karinwahlj.bsky.social on the rise of boutique news media to start off the #AANZCA25 conference on the Sunshine Coast. Liveblog is up:

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen discussing her idea of “Boutique media” at #AANZCA25. Including news influencers, podcasts, newsletters/substack, and local news entrepreneurs (hyper local); Karin highlights the blurred boundaries, complexities, the role of authority/trust, economics, and the research needed 📚

Here's a new resource from @qutdmrc.bsky.social to explain #problematicinformation (and its various forms), harms, tips to help navigate online info environments, and what can be done. Access and download here: research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/explain... #informationintegrity #misinformation #disinformation

Great panel last night at #AlterCOP30 Brisbane 'Queensland in Transition: Climate Realities, Shared Futures'. One point made: "The economics and technology are there - we really need to focus on the politics". This community-led initiative has more events this week: www.altercop.com/australia

Steering Great Barrier Reef climate science narratives through the mediasphere in a time of misinformation npj Climate Action - Steering Great Barrier Reef climate science narratives through the mediasphere in a time of misinformation

Congratulations to PhD researcher Carly Lubicz and a team of interdisciplinary researchers who recently published the article, "Steering Great Barrier Reef climate science narratives through the mediasphere in a time of misinformation" in the Nature journal.

Steering Great Barrier Reef climate science narratives through the mediasphere in a time of misinformation - npj Climate Action npj Climate Action - Steering Great Barrier Reef climate science narratives through the mediasphere in a time of misinformation

Your science is sound
Your press release says “Reef recovery”
The internet hears “Crisis over”

A study shows how well-intended optimism can fuel climate misinformation.

Context matters...

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

BIG launch this week--the book is available, free, online at our @cssn.org website:

cssn.org/news-researc...

Congratulations to PhD candidates Carly Lubicz @carlylubicz.bsky.social, Caroline Gardam @cazuarina.bsky.social, and Associate Professor Michelle Riedlinger @riedlinm.bsky.social ! They spoke to the Senate Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy this morning.

Trump-style 'climate hoax' playbook spreads to Australia US researchers have tracked how dark money funds a tangled web of climate denial think tanks with vested interests in slowing climate action. And Australia is not immune.

Pleased to be contributing to this discussion tomorrow at the Senate Inquiry with some of my @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues @cazuarina.bsky.social and @riedlinm.bsky.social: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09... #informationintegrity #scienceforpolicy #climatechange #energytransition

Multimodal narratives of climate denial: A novel, visual-first methodology for analysing conspiracy theory discourse on Instagram Problematic information about climate change in online spaces can impact public awareness about climate change’s causes, impacts, and mitigation strat…

I'm excited to see this published!

Cover of the publication

👉 Just published: "Empowering People in Online Spaces: Democracy and Well-being in Digital Societies" - Book of Abstracts of the Weizenbaum Conference 2025. #WIConf25

➡️ doi.org/10.34669/WI.... 🔗

Right-wing political group Advance is in the headlines. What is it and what does it stand for? The husband of antisemitism special envoy Jillian Segal has donated to Advance. Here’s what the group’s all about.

"Part of a worldwide trend towards right-wing populism, Advance will likely continue to be at the centre of conservative politics in Australia."

Me writing for @theconversation.com on conservative campaign group Advance.

theconversation.com/right-wing-p...

Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public Powerful corporations, governments and political parties intentionally spread false information about climate change to avoid ending greenhouse gas emissions.

From the IPIE's report, I really like the idea of 'coalitions of the willing' - "movements need to be built across borders and private, public and civil society. These can counterbalance the alliances of powerful economic and political interests." theconversation.com/can-you-trus... #climatechange

Comment Elon Musk utilise son réseau X pour faire monter l'extrême droite en Europe - RTBF Actus Voici un extrait du compte X (anciennement Twitter) de Dries Van Langenhove, ex-député Vlaams Belang condamné en 2024 à...

Here's me saying it like it is regarding Elon Musk and X as a propaganda tool that is increasingly biased towards the far right.

The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social

www.rtbf.be/article/comm...

Fossil fuel companies ‘poisoned the well’ of public debate with climate disinformation. Here’s how Australia can break free The US has obstructed climate action for decades – largely due to damaging actions by the powerful fossil fuel industry. But Australia has a chance now to lead.

Great contextual article from someone who is very familiar with this playbook, @naomioreskes.bsky.social: "For decades, the fossil fuel industry has told the public our societies can’t manage without fossil fuels. Large parts of Australia have proved it’s just not so" #auspol #climatechange

Thanks so much to Read Them Sideways for having me Kate 🙏

The reality: Australia is the third largest fossil fuels exporter in the world and its ranked second on an emissions basis, largely due to coal. We are seeing CC now: 1.5°C warming breached for the first time in 2024. Scientists resoundingly agree we need to act now & stop burning fossil fuels 🧯

Last night, we saw some prime examples of “whataboutism” to argue that Australia is small/inconsequential and to blame our inaction on China and India's growth/actions; "technological optimism" to argue that SMRs will be the solution; and "fossil fuel solutionism" via coal and gas... 🙅‍♀️

What are "Discourses of Delay"? See www.cambridge.org/core/journal..., including a graphic that categorises some of the most common storylines used to dodge climate action 🎭

Thanks for the chat last week @phzerosounds.bsky.social for @qutdmrc.bsky.social Read Them Sideways 👇

➕ Last night, climate change entered Australia's election conversation in the #ABCNews Leaders' Debate. While one side acknowledged climate science, the other employed "Discourses of Delay" 🧵

How to heal the renewables rift impacting regional Australia - 360 A backlash against the rapid rollout of energy infrastructure defies broad support for renewables. There are better ways of working with affected communities. Earlier this year farmers in western Vict...

These two articles speak really well to the power and impact of hyper local. Could grassroots initiatives like these be a key part of addressing broader scale #polarisation? 1) 360info.org/how-to-heal-...; 2) Why regional communities need local news to be told: 360info.org/why-regional...

Australia urgently needs to get serious about long-term climate policy – but there’s no sign of that in the election campaign The election campaign must prioritise climate policy to ensure the next government drives the transition to a clean economy in a world upended by Donald Trump.

theconversation.com/australia-ur...

Do offshore turbines kill whales? Wind farm facts, fiction and unknowns Offshore wind faces community and political opposition as well support for its promise of ample renewable energy and while some claims can be ruled out, experts say other concerns are valid.

Good to see some of the key claims about offshore #windenergy in #Australia being addressed in this article (Spoiler alert: there is no evidence that wind turbines kill whales; while research is needed in other areas, we need to embrace the precautionary principle): www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03...

Congrats to my @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues on this great piece 👏
#auspol #polarisation #partisanship