Climate Lies Going Unchallenged On German TV Nearly Once A Week
A new report, Climate misinformation as a systemic risk to information integrity in German media reveals the extent to which climate disinformation German TV is exposing millions of primetime viewers to harmful false climate content on a regular basis.
The report from QuotaClimat, Science Feedback and Data For Good analysed six major TV channels over nine months of last year, finding 47 unchallenged cases of climate lies broadcast between April 2025 and April 2026 (excluding Nov ‘25-Jan’26 for data quality reasons.)
The expert analysis on German TV media coverage of climate change found:
- Politicians were the single biggest source of climate misinformation, responsible for almost 40% of cases, with guests responsible for 30% and journalists/commentators the final 30%
- Disinformation was deployed strategically around politically charged moments, including Germany’s federal elections, budget negotiations and the adoption of the 2026 Climate Action Programme
- Live fact-checking of lying guests on panels, more funding for quality, independent media, and greater transparency and regulatory oversight of lobbying, advertising and Big Tech algorithms would better protect the German public.
The findings are a warning: although climate coverage is rising in Germany, so is the risk that what audiences are exposed to goes unchallenged if media outlets continue to give the microphone to bad faith actors who spread climate lies at the public. Without structural reform, more airtime for climate, could mean more airtime for harmful disinformation.
