Klimatdesinformation på Google sök : En undersökning av Googles synliggörande av greenwashing utifrån sökmotorns principer om trovärdighet

Sammanfattning

This study aims to contribute to the knowledge about climate disinformation on the search engine Google search. Focus lies on greenwashing content on the search engine result page, in relation to Google's principles of Expertise, Experience, Authority and Trustworthiness (EEAT) and Your Money or Your Life (YMYL). Greenwashing is a form of climate disinformation where companies present exaggerated or false climate claims. This study investigates the search terms climate neutral and net zero emissions as well as a sample of companies publicly accused of greenwashing in Sweden. The research questions are: Does Google search contribute to the visibility of greenwashing, and if so, how? How can the search results be understood in relation to Google's principles of trustworthiness? The data collection was performed with the search engine scraper, Result Assessment Tool (RAT). A content analysis with a coding scheme was made to detect greenwashing. Using frame theory, the search results were both analyzed individually and the first two result pages as a whole. The result suggests that Google contributes to the visibility of greenwashing on Google search. This is in line with the report Greenwashing on Google but in this case in a Swedish context. However, more studies are needed to form a firm conclusion. As previous research discusses, the climate crisis can be framed as a public health issue. It could therefore be argued that websites with climate claims that affect people's economy or health ought to be moderated as YMYL and according to the principles of EEAT.