Pinterest to Remove Content with Climate-Change Misinformation

In an attempt to curb the spread of misleading information, Pinterest is rolling out new guidelines that would prohibit posts containing misleading information about climate change. 

Pinterest said that it will remove content from users or advertisers that it deems as misinformation about the existence or impact of climate change.

It defines misinformation as false or misleading content that may harm pinners or the public well being, safety or trust. Pinners are the users of the company’s platform. 

Pinterest was launched in 2010 and was focused on photos at the time. Recently it has been shifting its focus on video, commerce and creators. PayPal had also been in talks to buy the company but backed off after PayPal’s shareholders objected.

The policy shift on Pinterest was followed by a report earlier this week by the United Nations to discover that countries need to make a major and rapid shift from fossil fuels to renewables to reach the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.